Yugioh GX: Self Deception
by Anime Goddess and Protector
Summary: Mokuba runs away to Duel Academy away from his 'changed' brother. He then begins to live a life of self deception. Will a certain silver eyed girl keep him sane? MokubaOC JadenAlexis BastionOC TyrannoOC AsterOC ChazzMindy 2nd Fanfic! Please R&R! CHAPTER 2
1. Chapter 1: Secret Idenity

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX or its characters. I only own Takari Maruzakashi and this idea. This is my 2nd fanfic! No Flamez please! Please R&R!

Anime Goddess and Protector

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Prologue: Flight From Kaiba Corp

_I have to get away... I have to get away... Big Brother doesn't know what he's doing anymore... He's not the Seto I grew up with. He isn't who I look up to.. I have to get away... I have to get away..._

He awoke to find himself in the middle of the ocean. He sat up in the boat and remembered what had happened. He looked out to a distant island from under his raven bangs with his dark eyes. Around his neck was a locket shaped like a Duel Monsters card. He sighed before he headed head on towards the island. Academy Island. Home of Duel Academy...

Chapter 1: Secret Idenity

"JAY-DEN!" Syrus Truesdale, a short boy with light blue hair and silver eyes, ran towards Jaden Yuki.

The dark brown and orange haired boy with chocolate brown eyes looked at the Ra Yellow currently running towards him. The Slifer frowned at the look on Syrus' face.

"What's up, Sy?" Jaden asked.

"Some kid just docked in! And he looks really familiar!" exclaimed Syrus.

"Well, let's go!" Jaden hopped up and the two best friends rushed towards the docks...

The Docks:

"That's him!" Syrus said, pointing at a boy barely shorter than Jaden with long raven hair and dark eyes. He was wearing a pair of dark pants, sneakers, a yellow vest, and a light aqua and violet stripped longsleeved shirt. He _did_ look familiar! Jaden and Syrus approached the boy and Syrus became shy, "Hi..."

"Uh... hi." the boy said. "Uh... do you know a place I can hide?"

_That's a random thing to say... _Jaden thought as the boy continously looked over his shoulder. _Well, he can hide at the Red Dorm for awhile. I wonder why he needs hidden though?_

"Why do you have to hide?" Jaden asked, narrowing his eyes.

The boy sighed, "Look, if you hide me, I will explain everything later. But NO ONE ELSE can know I'm here. Got it?"

"Got it!" Syrus said quickly, they then used Syrus' blazer and put it over the boy's head before rushing towards the Red Dorm as fast as they could.

The Slifer Dorms:

"Nice dorm." The raven haired boy said quietly as they drew the blinds and closed the door.

"Okay, spill." Jaden ordered.

The boy sighed, he then looked suspisciously towards the walls.

"Got any eavesdropping types?" he asked.

Syrus shrugged and looked outside to make sure no one was out there. The coast was clear.

"Fine..." the boy took a deep breath before speaking in a hushed voice. "My name is Mokuba Kaiba. I'm a runaway. And I can't be found by my brother..."

"Why?" interrupted Jaden.

Mokuba sat crosslegged and began to rock back and forth, "Well, you see, Seto hasn't been acting himself lately. I mean, he's been tending to never leave Kaiba Corp and he's been seeing these really creepy looking guys. And last night... he looked different and tried to hurt me..." Mokuba was trying hard not to cry. "It's like my real brother is dead and he's been replaced with an evil spirit!"

Syrus hugged Mokuba sympathetically. (NOT IN A GAY WAY! HE IS NOT GAY! HE'S SHORT!) Jaden only stared at the younger brother of Seto Kaiba and froze when he heard footsteps approaching.

"Quick! Hide!" Jaden hissed.

The door to Jaden and Syrus' dorm opened as soon as Mokuba shut the closet door. He pressed his ear against the wood to listen to the conversation.

"Takari! W-What're y-you d-doing h-here!?" Syrus stammered horribly.

A girl with dark brown hair, that stopped in the middle of her back, barely shorter than Jaden blinked her silver eyes in confusion, staring at her cousin.

"Sy, you know that I hang out here." Takari Maruzakashi sighed. Syrus sheepishly laughed as his cousin looked towards the closet. "And it's Kari. Call me the 'T' word again and you'll loose the feeling in your fingers, got it?"

"Yes, Kari." Syrus rolled his eyes as Kari laughed.

"What's up, Jaden? You look like you saw a ghost!"

Jaden quickly unpaled and smiled broadly at Syrus' cousin, "What! That's ridiculas! So, how's Obelisk treatin' ya?"

"Fine." Kari replied. "But I hate not being allowed to do anything I want..."

Syrus sweatdropped. His younger cousin was a Freshman this year at Duel Academy. She was actually a good duelist, but few people knew that Kari and Syrus were related. If you stared at their eyes, you could tell. They were identical. But other than that... nope. Kari despised the short skirts that the girls had to wear, so she got away with wearing a pair of shorts underneath. Kari was also good friends with Alexis Rhodes.

"So, what're you two up to?" Kari said, she eyed the closet with her silver eyes suspisciously.

_Oh, come off it! I'm gonna suffocate in here!_ Mokuba was debating whether to pass out or fall out of the closet. _Maybe she'll leave..._

"Uh... nothing." Both 2nd years lied quickly, chibi-blushing.

"Oh-kay. Have you seen the Dino Nut?" Kari then asked, stalling.

"Hassleberry?" Syrus shrugged.

"Okay, what about Chazz?" continued Kari, smirking.

"Uh..." Jaden looked stumped.

Kari closed the door and planted herself in one of the desk chairs. Staring directly at the closet door, "Oh well. Looks like I'm gonna stay here for awhile."

_GOD!_ The door to the closet door flew open at once and Mokuba finally anime collapsed, landing onto the floor at Kari's feet. His dark eyes closed. She gave a satisfactory smirk before leaping to her feet. _Oh no... _

"HAH! I KNEW YOU WERE HIDING SOMETHING! I KNEW IT! I-" She was cut off by Jaden clamping his hands over her mouth and she stopped yelling.

"Shut it, Kari! You wanna get us killed!" Jaden hissed in her ear. "Now, if I move my hands, you promise to be quiet?" Kari nodded. "You promise to keep this a secret?" Kari nodded once more. "Good..."

Jaden released Kari and she finally bent down next to Mokuba, "You alright?"

Mokuba opened his eyes and his face filled with chibi-blushes at once.

_She looks a lot like Serenity Wheeler... _Mokuba thought, thinking of Joey Wheeler's younger sister. Kari indeed did have the same hairstyle as Serenity and her facial features were similar. _She's actually kinda cute..._

_Wow... _Kari felt him take her hand and she grapsed it as she pulled him to his feet. _He's actually really cute. I wonder who he is? I swear, he seems familiar..._

"Kari, this is Mokuba Kaiba." Jaden sighed. "Mokuba, this is Kari Maruzakashi."

"Kaiba?" Kari blinked and stared at Mokuba's face. "As in Seto Kaiba's brother?"

Mokuba shyly nodded, "Yeah... I... I ran away. Can you please keep me being here a secret, Kari?"

Kari slowly smiled a half-smile, "Yes..."

"You'll need a new idenity." Jaden pointed out.

"How about Cloud?" Syrus suggested. "And he's here to visit for a little while."

"Cloud Coleson." Jaden said suddenly. "You're my fifth cousin on my mom's side."

"A secret idenity, huh?" Mokuba smiled. "I'm up for it."

Kari looked worried, "But what if someone recognizes him?"

"He'll just have to act a little different." Syrus added. "And we'll have to get him a uniform."

Jaden opened the closet and tossed Mokuba one of his extra blazers, "Here. We look about the same size."

Mokuba removed his yellow vest before slipping on the blazer. It was a little big, but it could work. Kari then found a red bandana and tied it on Mokuba's head like Hassleberry's dinosaur bandana.

"There. But his shirt clashes horribly." Kari giggled.

Syrus laughed along with his cousin as Jaden searched through the closet for a teeshirt. He emerged after a few minutes with a black one with white trimmings.

"What about this?" Jaden asked.

"Perfect!" exclaimed Syrus.

Kari clapped her hands together in triumph as Mokuba removed the blazer. All three boys turned to Kari at once.

"What?" she dared to ask, her silver eyes wide.

"Uh... Kari." Syrus said, his eyes shifting towards the door.

Kari turned scarlet, "Oh... right... I'll be leaving now..."

She rushed out of there as fast as she could. Once she was gone, Mokuba pulled off his other shirt and put on the new one. Once the blazer was on, he looked pretty cool. Kari knocked on the door and stuck her head in, her eyes shut.

"Can I come back in and see?" she pleaded.

"Yeah." Jaden said, Kari re-entered the dorm and checked Mokuba out.

"Wow..." she let out a low whistle. "Hello, Cloud."

Mokuba blushed a little as Syrus turned to him.

"Do you have your deck and duel disk?" He wondered.

"Yeah." Mokuba said. "Looks like I'm gonna have a secret idenity..."

_I just hope I don't get found out... and that I can figure out what's going on with big brother..._

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A/N: Hope you all liked Chapter one. I'll try and type chapter 2 ASAP. I'm going to be busy with school and everything. Well, I'm adding a review request. 3-5 reviews until I update, okay? Please R&R!

Anime Goddess and Protector


	2. Chapter 2: First Day at DA

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX or its characters. I only own Takari Maruzakashi and this idea. This is my 2nd fanfic! No Flamez please! Please R&R!

Anime Goddess and Protector

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Chapter 2: First Day at Duel Academy

"C'mon!" Kari tugged on Mokuba's sleeve harder.

"I changed my mind! I'll just stay in the closet all day!" Mokuba protested as Kari continued to try and pull him through the doorway and into Dr. Crowler's classroom.

"Get! In! Here!" Kari tugged one last time and flew backwards onto her back.

Mokuba fell into the classroom and landed on top of Kari. Both fifteen-year-olds turned crimson before they stood up and brushed any dirt off of their uniforms, acting as if nothing happened. They then saw a fellow freshman and made their way towards him.

"Hey, Sarge." Kari said breathlessly. "This is M... Cloud! This is Cloud!"

"Nice to meetcha." Tyranno Hassleberry replied.

A tanned skinned boy with forest green-brown eyes shook Mokuba's hand. His ebony black hair was conrowed and he wore his dinosaur bandana like Mokuba did. He also wore a pair of khaki pants with army boots, a green sleeveless shirt, and a Ra Yellow Vest. Dr. Crowler entered the classroom, his beady black eyes landing on Mokuba and he rolled his eyes.

"I see that even the new Slifer has managed to get in here on time." Crowler said as soon as the bell rang and Mokuba jumped. "Well, introduce yourself, Slacker."

_Slacker! Excuse me! _Mokuba opened his mouth to mouth back, but Kari sent him a warning with her eyes. _How do these nimcompoops get jobs here? Oh well, might as well get on with this whole Cloud Coleson ordeal..._

"My name is Cloud Coleson, I recently turned fifteen on July 7, I'm Jaden Yuki's fifth cousin on his mom's side, and I won't tolerate being insulted." Mokuba said, his dark eyes flickering towards Crowler. "Oh, and I'm a transfer student."

Crowler cringed at the coldness Mokuba had used, "Very well... take your seat."

Mokuba boldy, instead of heading for the Slifer section, planted himself in the empty seat next to Kari.

"What are you doing!?" she hissed.

"Watch..." smirked Mokuba, crossing his arms.

Crowler growled, but didn't say anything at Mokuba's sudden action.

_This Coleson is exactly like Jaden..._ Crowler thought bitterly. _He definatly has his ignorance... He can stay there, but I will make him go down with his cousin if it's the last thing I do..._

Kari smiled proudly at the boy sitting next to her. He saw her doing so out of the corner of his eyes and it made him chibi-blush. Kari caught him chibi-blushing and turned away quickly. Her new friend smiling to himself as the silver eyed girl started taking notes.

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Meanwhile, Jaden and Syrus were sneaking around a certain creepy teacher's office...

"Jay!" Syrus hissed, "I don't think we should do this!"

"Shh!" Jaden snapped. "We have to!"

He pulled out a file they had finished making up as 'Cole's' dueling transfer records. Jaden swiped a paperclip conveinantly lying on Crowler's desk and paperclipped a snapshot of 'Cole' they had taken that morning and quickly opened his filing cabinet and found the freshman records under the Slifer Red section and put it in alphabetically. (Syrus helped Jaden at this point) They were about to close it, when Jaden's eyes landed on Takari Maruzakashi's file. Syrus looked anxiously at the door and back at Jaden in time to see him reaching for it.

"Jaden!" Syrus squeaked, "What're you doing?!"

"C'mon, Sy." Jaden whispered. "Haven't you been wondering about Kari's sudden test scores?"

Syrus shifted his feet, "A little..."

"Well," Jaden snatched the file. "Now's our chance to find out all we need to about Takari. She's been hiding something from us, Syrus. And your parents and Zane won't budge either."

"But we have to be able to make sure Crowler doesn't notice it's absence." Syrus pointed out in a hushed voice.

"Simple," Jaden found another folder and labeled it identical to the one in his hands. He removed Kari's snapshot and put it on the empty folder before placing it back in the cabinet. "Now, let's go."

The two boys quickly ran out of the office, relocked the door, and rushed down the corridor a few moments before Crowler appeared from the opposite end. He looked angry.

"Stupid Slifer Slackers... humiliating my class like that..." mumbled Crowler as he found his keys and unlocked the door. "That Cloud is really getting on my bad list like Jaden." Crowler smirked. "Let's see if he really is all fact..."

Crowler went to his cabinet and opened it with ease.

_That's odd... wasn't it locked?_ Crowler shrugged before he pulled out the (recently placed) file on Cloud Coleson and smirked evilly. _Hah! Now to find out more about Jaden's Slacker of a cousin..._

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"Uh... is this even food?" Mokuba dared to ask as he stared at the who-knows-what that was on his tray.

"Cloud!" Mokuba continued to poke the jiggly white stuff with his fork. "CLO-UD!"

Mokuba finally looked up after he recieved a sharp blow to his head. He was surprised to see a very annoyed Kari with anger marks glaring down on him. Mokuba frowned as he rubbed his head.

"What?" Mokuba demanded.

"I called you!" she hissed.

Sweatdropping, Mokuba rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Sorry..." he apoligized.

Kari made a disgusted face when she saw what was on Mokuba's tray. She picked it up and suddenly dumped it.

"Hey!" cried Mokuba in annoyance.

"What?" Kari raised an eyebrow. "You were actually going to eat that? Were you?"

Mokuba paused, "Okay, point taken." His stomach growled. "But I'm starving over here!"

Kari rolled her silver eyes, "C'mere."

She pulled Mokuba outside and opened her black bag before pulling out three sandwiches.

"Food!" Mokuba cried victoriously, he did the lines of a happy dance.

Kari couldn't help but laugh when he tripped over his shoelace and landed face first in the grass at her feet.

"You alright?" Kari asked, bending down with her arm outstretched.

Mokuba opened his eyes and felt Dèjà Vu. Kari had the exact same look on her face the first time they encountered. Mokuba grasped her hand and she pulled him to his feet. They remained holding hands for a few moments before they chibi-blushed and let go. Kari turning her attention to ripping half of the third sandwich.

"Here." she said, avoiding his eyes as she handed him a turkey sandwich and half of another one. "Before you starve."

Mokuba laughed and Kari smiled shyly as they sat down and ate their sandwiches.

"Hey, this is pretty good." Mokuba said after eating the half-a-sandwich. "What exactly is on it?"

"White turkey, tomatoes, pickles, mayo, and mustard." Kari said. "It's one of my favorites..."

"Same here." Mokuba grinned.

They then sighed together and spoke at the same time, "Right next to peanut butter and bananas..."

Mokuba blinked his dark eyes in surprise while Kari looked into her lap.

_Whoa... that was weird. _He thought.

_That was... rather strange. _She thought at the same time.

"Uh... Mokuba?" Kari whispered so no one would hear his true idenity.

"Yes, Takari?" Mokuba said, smirking slightly.

To his surprise, she didn't blow up or anything for calling her by her first name. She only smiled at him with her silver eyes sparkling. A strand of her dark brown bangs falling into her right eye. Mokuba leaned over and pushed it back into place before smiling.

"I'm glad you're here..." Kari whispered. "And that we're friends..."

"Me too..." Mokuba said gently. "Thank you... for everything."

Once Kari had looked away, Mokuba began to space out.

_Mokuba, what is wrong with you?! You're here to hide, not to develop a hopeless crush on a girl!_ Mokuba scolded himself.

_But she's the coolest girl you've ever met. She's keeping your secret... and she's your friend. _A softer part of himself argued. _Face it, you care about her. _

Mokuba closed his eyes, _I care about her as a friend... so why do I keep on thinking about her? _Mokuba smiled softly as an chibi image filled his mind. _No! None of that! You're here to hide from Big Brother! This can wait... can't it?_

No matter how much Mokuba tried to hide himself from the truth, he had began to have a crush on Takari Maruzakashi. Little did he know she was having the same problems in _her_ heart...

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"Syrus..." Jaden said quietly, they looking at the file warily. "It's now or never..."

"Time to find out the truth..." Syrus whispered. "And find out why Kari lived with our grandmother part of her life..."

They opened the file...

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A/N: CLIFFHANGER! MWHAHAHA! I can be so evil at times. Don't worry, Kari's past isn't tragic or anything. But let's just say she met somebody once before in the most unlikist place... Thx for reviewing my last chapter! 3-5 reviews til I update. Please R&R!

Anime Goddess and Protector


	3. Chapter 3: The Queen of Machines

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX or its characters. I only own Takari Maruzakashi and this idea. This is my 2nd fanfic! No Flamez please! Please R&R!

Anime Goddess and Protector

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Chapter 3: The Queen of Machines

They opened the file... and the door burst open, causing Syrus to slam it shut and hide it in his desk drawer before he turned around to face a fellow Ra Yellow. Bastion Misawa. The raven haired, dark brown eyed, child prodigy raised an eyebrow.

"There you two are!" Bastion said in his english accent. "Chancellor Crowler's class is gonna start in ten minutes!"

"Shoot! I forgot!" Jaden exclaimed.

Syrus and Bastion stared at him oddly.

"What? Hey, I can't risk getting detention. I'll miss the Tag Team Competition comin' up. And I wanna compete."

Syrus shrugged before the three boys darted out of the dorm and towards Duel Academy's Main Building and into Crowler's classroom. They had just slided into their seats when the bell rang.

"Alright, settle down! Settle down!" barked Crowler, even though the room was as quiet as a Church Mouse.

"What put him in a bad mood?" whispered Syrus to Bastion.

Bastion frowned, "I think that new Freshman Slifer. Cloud Coleson."

_Mokuba!? _Syrus sighed. _He's not doing a good job at keeping a low profile... Hopefully Takari - I mean- KARI can keep him under control. But I wonder what she's hiding from us... Might as well pay attention now._

Syrus' silver eyes looked up from his notebook and he felt his cheeks grow warm instantly. A girl had entered the classroom and they all recognized her at once. The Queen of Machines...

"Class, this is Alexa Maaka." Crowler said, grinning. "She's here to represent the American Duel Academy in the Tag Team Competion our school has recieved the honor to host. Her and her two apprentices will be competing with and against Duel Academy."

The dark chestnut brown haired girl with midlength hair styled like Nanobreaker's weakly smiled at the class. She had silver-blue eyes that were innocent and she was wearing a pair of reading glasses. She was just about Syrus' height too and she was wearing a uniform for people to know she was a representative. It was a pair of Storming Wynn like boots, a dark blue and white kneelength dress that resembled the Girls' Uniform, and a silver Storming Wynn like cloak with ADA written in green on the sleeve shoulder. Syrus smiled a half-smile at her and she returned it slowly.

"Alexa." Crowler said. "There seems to be no room in the Obelisk section." He spotted the only empty seat next to Syrus. "I guess you may sit in the Ra section." Crowler's beady black eyes narrowed. "Truesdale!"

Syrus jumped up immediatly, "Yes, Chancellor?"

"Alexa Maaka is going to be sitting next to you! Don't bother her!" barked Crowler.

"Yes, sir..." muttered Syrus, sitting back down.

Alexa made her way to the seat and sat down slowly and shyly.

_The Queen of the Machines? Sitting next to me? _Syrus thought, nervously. _What if I screw up and she won't talk to me? What if I make a fool of myself? Argh!_

"Excuse me?" Alexa said in a soft quiet voice, bringing Syrus back to reality.

"Yes?" Syrus whispered, "Alexa?"

"What's your name?" Alexa then asked, smiling.

"Syrus Truesdale." Syrus said, his nerves worsening.

"Well, I'm Alexa Maaka." Alexa whispered, holding her hand out under the desk so they can shake hands.

"I know." Syrus replied gently. "Crowler introduced you."

Alexa rolled her eyes, "That guy is weird." She giggled. "I mean, what is the deal with the lipstick?"

"No one knows!" laughed Syrus as loudly as he dared.

"You're nice." Alexa complimented. "I like nice boys. They're cool."

_Does this mean she thinks I'm cool? _Syrus asked himself hopefully.

Alexa pulled a strand of her dark chestnut brown hair behind her ear shyly, "Syrus?"

"Yes?" Syrus said, looking a little confused.

"Would you mind showing me Duel Academy?" Alexa asked sweetly. "I really haven't met anyone else who knows the place. My friend is a Freshman and she gets lost easily."

"Who's your friend?" Syrus asked. "And, okay. I'll show you around."

"Rae Andrews." Alexa explained.

"Guardian of the Dragons?" squeaked Syrus. "She's worse than Hassleberry!"

"Tyranno Hassleberry?" whispered Alexa. "He's known Rae since 2nd grade..."

"ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION?!" demanded Crowler to the Slifers.

"Yes, sir!" They all chorused, straightening up in their seats.

Alexa and Syrus exchanged a look before they stared down at the man wearing purple lipstick, soft smiles on both of their lips. They had become friends. But could they possibly be more?

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"TY-RANN-O!" an enraged voice screamed as Bastion entered the Ra Dorms.

"What the-?" Bastion blinked before turning down a corridor.

Bastion froze when he saw Tyranno Hassleberry and a freshman Obelisk girl arguing. The girl had waistlength ebony black hair that was pulled into a ponytail in the middle of her back with a sky blue hairclip. Behind a pair of Avalanching Aussa like goggles were a pair of icy green eyes. She was barely shorter than Tyranno and just as menacing looking. Around her neck she wore a choker necklace with a silver carving of a Blackland Fire Dragon attached to a clasp. She was wearing a pair of kneehigh Avalanching Aussa like boots and she wore a pair black leggings with an Obelisk mini-skirt and top. A studded leather belt hung over one hip and you could see her deck case imprinted with a marking identical to the Blackland Fire Dragon choker necklace. Tyranno and the girl were going head on, when Bastion got a good look at her face, her recognized her.

_Alison? Alison Raven Andrews? Dragon Guardian and Protector? Arguing? With the Sarge? _Bastion's brain was apparantly on the slow side this morning. The Dinosaur DNA inside Tyranno activated and his eyes went like a T-Rex's. The girl notcied and smirked. _Oh boy... here it comes._

"Oooo, macho man is finally comin' out!" she said sarcastically. "I'm so scared I'm trembling like a Petit Dragon..."

"Rae..." growled Tyranno, Rae smirked again.

"What?" she asked, blinking her icy green eyes innocently.

Tyranno's forest green-brown eyes went wide, "Oh no..." he said slowly. "That look won't work on me!"

Rae was smirking so much, Bastion thought her face was gonna freeze. She teasingly walked over to Tyranno and stood on tiptoe, so her lips were level with his. Tyranno was blood red and he kept on nervously stretching the collar of his green sleeveless shirt and sweatdropping. Rae smiled softly.

_Whoa! Hold the phone! Is she gonna kiss me?! _Tyranno thought embarrassed.

"Afraid it did." Rae whispered before shoving Tyranno into the wall and walking off.

Bastion chuckled as we walked over to Tyranno, who had slid down the wall and was sitting on the floor, his legs out.

"You alright, Sarge?" Bastion teased.

"Shut up Misawa." Tyranno growled, his eyes going T-Rex again.

Bastion rolled his eyes, "At least I don't get all worked up for a girl."

Tyranno blushed horribly as the older Ra walked away, chuckling.

"That Rae sure is something else." Bastion muttered. He stopped and turned around. "Hey! Sarge!"

Tyranno looked up, "What?"

"Why were you too fighting?" Bastion questioned, in puzzlement.

"Oh..." Tyranno rubbed the back of his neck. "Er... it was over the Tag Team Competition."

Bastion blinked, "Oh-kay."

"Look, we're going up against each other and it's pretty hard on us!" Tyranno nearly shouted, he lowered his voice and shifted his feet. "We've been pals for so long... and neither of us likes to loose."

Bastion walked towards the younger student and smiled reassuringly.

"That..." Bastion said slowly, he was smirking now. "And you like her!"

Tyranno was beet red, "Am I really THAT obvious!?" He hissed, he clamped his hands over his mouth. "I didn't mean to say that!"

"Don't worry," began Bastion. "Your secret's safe with me..."

Bastion walked away, Tyranno staring after him. He closed his forest green-brown eyes, smiling.

_Thank you... Bastion._ he thought.

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Kari sighed as she stared at the ceiling of Jaden and Tyranno's dorm. Mokuba was outside for some strange reason and refused to tell Kari what he was up to. Her silver eyes gazing towards the open window. The early night was settling itself and Kari sighed again. Her dark brown locks falling down her shoulders. She closed her eyes and imagined herself back home, when she first aquired her deck.

A/N: Okay, so I spent all day creating Kari's deck. It's a complete OC deck, so don't kill me. And it's based of off Final Fantasy's Guardian Forces. So Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Final Fantasy.

Flashback: 3 years ago

"Wow! Cool!" the twelve-year-old Kari said, she looked down at the cards displayed in the window of the Kame Game Shop and smiled. "These monsters are pretty awesome!"

Her hair wasn't as long, but it was still styled the same way. She was wearing kneehigh white boots, a black pleated skirt that went to her knees, and a white, yellow, and light pink top similar to a girl's that was currently standing in the shop with a blond haired boy with brown eyes and Yugi Moto. Kari was too shy to enter the shop, so she continued admiring the cards outside.

The reddish-brown haired girl with bright earth green-silver eyes looked out the window and saw a girl that looked like her somewhat. Their hair style's were exactly the same and they were wearing similar tops.

"Joey..." she whispered, nudging him. "Look at that girl."

Joey Wheeler did so, his mouth dropping open. Out of sheer curiosity, Yugi looked over as well. He felt his mouth drop as well.

"Serenity! She looks exactly like ya!" Joey spat out.

Serenity Wheeler wandered over to the door and opened it.

"Hello." she said to Kari, who jumped and turned pink.

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am..." Kari stuttered, "I wasn't doing anything I wasn't suppossed to!"

Serenity smiled, "It's okay, you did nothing wrong. Why don't you come inside?"

Kari looked relunctant at first, but she smiled before walking inside the shop. Yugi and Joey exchanged a look as Kari nervously curtsied.

"Hiya!" Yugi said at once, he held out his hand and Kari shook it. "I'm Yugi! What's your name?"

"K-Kari..." the dark brunette stammered, her silver eyes wide.

Soloman Moto came out from the back of the shop and saw Kari shyly looking towards the display window.

"Ah... I see the Guardian Forces have caught a young duelist's eye!" Soloman chuckled, he went to the window and removed the nineteen GF's and the twenty-one spell and trap cards. "Do you wish to purchase it?"

Kari looked at her feet, "I only have a little money."

Serenity kneeled down and extended her hand, Kari dug out the money from her pockets and came up ten dollars short. To everyone's surprise, Serenity gave Kari another ten dollars.

"There ya go, sweetums." Serenity said gently. "Now you can by the deck that you've been admiring for so long."

Kari looked into Serenity's eyes, "I-I don't know how to thank you."

Serenity placed both arms on the younger girl's shoulder's. "Simple, become the your best."

Kari broke into a grin, paid for the deck, put it in her almost empty deckcase and pulled out a card. She handed it out to Serenity.

"Here," she said shyly. "It's a card I made for a contest but never submitted."

Serenity took it slowly and carefully, she read the cardname. "Serenity's Blessing?"

"Yep..." Kari smiled. "I want you to have it."

Serenity looked at a good sketch of an older versioned Kari. But it looked like Serenity in angel form. She took the card and held it to her heart.

"Thank you very much, Kari." Serenity whispered.

Kari waved goodbye, "See ya! Bye Yugi! Bye Joey!"

Serenity Wheeler watched the young twelve-year-old skip happily down the street and turn down another. She looked at Serenity's Blessing before placing it in her very own deckcase which contained the deck she was building. A soft smile on her lips...

End of Flashback: The Slifer Dorms

"Ahh!" Kari exclaimed as somebody grabbed her arm, she grabbed the person and flipped them.

"KARI!" a very surprised voice yelped. "OW!"

Kari's hands flew up to her mouth and she stared at the boy she had flipped and had landed on a fluffy and comfortable sleeping bag on his head. His dark eyes glaring at her.

"Sorry!" Kari exclaimed, rushing to him and pulling him upright. "Just don't sneak up on me!"

"Who taught ya to flip people like beanbags?" demanded a very annoyed Mokuba Kaiba.

Kari sheepishly laughed, "My Mamaw."

_AN OLD LADY TAUGHT HER GRANDDAUGHTER TO KARATE FLIP PEOPLE?! COOL! _Mokuba thought. He blinked his eyes as he stared at Kari's face. _DANG! I'M DOING IT AGAIN!_

Mokuba's mind filled with chibi images. This particular one was one involving a dance. Chibi-Mokuba was talking to Chibi-Kari and Chibi-Mokuba brought out a flower and handed it to her. Chibi-Kari's eyes became hearts and she glomped Chibi-Mokuba, telling him she would love to goto the dance with him and become his girlfriend. Chibi-Mokuba looking lovestruck. Kari poked Mokuba hard in the side and he snapped out of it.

"What?!" he hissed.

"What's with the psychotic look?" demanded Kari. "You looked really creepy and murderous. Not to mention spaced out."

Mokuba rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry, I need to stop doing that."

"I'll say." Kari rolled her eyes. She stood up and looked at her digital black watch. "I gotta go."

"You want me to walk you to your dorm?" Mokuba asked hopefully.

Kari turned pink in her cheeks, "Well, uh, sure."

Mokuba hopped up and opened the door, Kari walked through it, muttered a thank you, and kept walking. Mokuba shut the door and followed her down the metal stairs and towards the big white bridge. They crossed it slowly and Kari walked with her hands folded in front of her. She was tongue-tied.

_Why can't I suddenly not talk to him?! _Kari thought bitterly. _It's just Mokuba... but then there's the whole thing where I've always been shy around people I've just met. That's gotta be it! _

A softer voice argued, _You know that's not true, Takari... you're devoloping feelings for Mokuba. Watch, in a few weeks, you'll be head over heels for him. He's the most amazing guy you've ever met. Heck, he might feel the same way... he acts like it._

_He does not!_ Kari argued with herself.

"Kari?" Mokuba said softly, she jerked her attention to the raven haired boy.

"Yesh?" Kari said, combining Yes and Yeah.

"I hope Seto doesn't find me..." whispered Mokuba.

Kari stared at him, a loss for words. All she could do was stare at Mokuba with a deep sorrow for his pain.

What was she to do?

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A/N: Done at last! Well, I gotta go now! Please R&R! And thx JadenYukiAlexisYuki for your support! ONTO THE NEXT CHAPPIE! PEEZE R&R!

Anime Goddess and Protector


	4. Chapter 4: Double Trouble

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX or its characters or the Devlin Twins. I also do not own anything Final Fantasy related. I only own Takari Maruzakashi and this idea. This is my 2nd fanfic! No Flamez please! Please R&R!

Anime Goddess and Protector

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Chapter 4: Double Trouble

"Mokuba..." Kari said softly. "I know that it's hard... but I'm here for you."

"Really?" Mokuba looked at her with hope in his dark eyes.

"Really, really." smiled Kari.

They stood in the darkness and watched each other for a few moments. Smiling at one another. Mokuba finally looked at his feet blushing as they stopped walking down the forest path. Kari sighed before they reached the Obelisk Dorms.

"Goodnight." Kari said softly.

"Goodnight." Mokuba replied as she entered the dorms.

_Dang!_ Mokuba kicked a rock as he headed back to the Slifer dorms. _I need to do something, and fast!_ Mokuba froze when he heard his PDA go off. He pulled it out and looked at it, surprised to see a message. _Huh? What the-? _He clicked on it. _'You are hearby invited to the annual Tag Team Competiton Dance. Formal dress. Date required...' WHAT THE! A DANCE!_ Mokuba smiled and threw an arm up in triumph. _This is perfect! I can ask Kari to the dance! _

Mokuba then happily ran the rest of the way to Jaden and Tyranno's dorm. Happiness in his heart...

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Obelisk Stadium: 2 Days Later

"Wow..." Alexa Maaka whistled under her breath as she entered the stadium with a pair of identical twin girls of about fifteen years of age. "Sure is bigger than ADA's stadium..."

The girls were her apprentices. The first one was wearing a red bandana, a red blazer with black trimmings, a black mini-skirt, red leggings, and black zip up boots with red zippers. Around her waist was a black belt with a red deckcase. Standing next to her was her twin, who was wearing a black bandana, a black blazer with red trimmings, a red mini-skirt, black leggings, and red zip up boots with black zippers. Around her waist was a white belt with a blue deckcase. Both had the ADA logo on their right shoulders.

"I'll say." the sandy brown haired one wearing a red bandana like Mokuba's muttered. She had soft jade green eyes and fair skin. Her hair was pleated out like the Dark Magician Girl's as well. She turned to her twin sister. "Right?"

The one wearing a back bandana like her sister nodded, "Yep."

"Atilea!" a voice exclaimed at the same time as another shouted in surprise, "Aelita!"

Both twins looked up to see Jaden Yuki and Bastion Misawa rushing towards them. Jaden pulled the one wearing the red bandana into a lungcrushing hug while Bastion picked up the black bandanaed one and hugged her.

"Ati! I missed you!" Jaden cried.

"J-Jaden!" Atilea stammered horribly, her cheeks blood red. "Geroff me!"

Jaden released her and she took a number of deep breaths before glaring at him. She fixed her red blazer and scowled while Bastion gently put Aelita down. She brushed her sandy brown Amy Lee styled hair out of her jade green eyes. Alexa only stared, clearly confused.

"Bastion! Nice to see ya again!" Aelita exclaimed.

Bastion sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "Looks like you've improved."

"You bet." Aelita smirked, staring at her old friend. "I've upgraded my Mythical Creature Deck."

"And I can't wait to take on Jay." Atilea smirked too. "My Spellcaster's will kill him."

"Is that so?" Jaden demanded.

"Yeah!" cried Atilea.

"How's Duke?" Bastion asked.

Both twins fell into giggle fits about their adopted older brother, Duke Devlin. They had been adopted at the age of eight by the Devlins' and had moved to America shortly afterwards. Atilea and Aelita had met Jaden and Bastion at their brother's game shop. They became fast friends and had pretty sad goodbyes, but they promised that they would one day be reunited.

"He's fine." Aelita said, Alexa had been staring blankly into space. "He's got a girlfriend!"

"Who?" Alexa asked, snapping back to reality quicker than a shot.

"Joey Wheeler's sister. Serenity." Atilea replied, grinning.

A/N: Sorry any Serenity/Tristan fans, but Serenity's with Duke. I perfer that couple anywayz...

Jaden and Atilea started glaring at each other. Suddenly, they had hopped up on the duel arena and had their duel disk's activated and their decks were being shuffled.

"Wow, Jaden sure works fast." a female voice said in surprise from behind Alexa, Aelita, and Bastion.

All three teens turned around to face a pretty girl with dark blonde midlength hair and bright light gold brown eyes. She was wearing an Obelisk Girl's Uniform and her arms were crossed. Standing next to her was Kari, Syrus, and Mokuba.

"Hey, Alexis." Bastion waved somewhat.

Alexis Rhodes smiled at the raven haired boy and turned to Alexa and Aelita.

"I know you." Alexis said to Alexa. "You're The Queen of Machines."

Alexa nodded, she caught Syrus' eye and he smiled softly at her, "That's right. This is Aelita Devlin. One of my apprentices."

Alexis shook Aelita's hand, "Nice to meetcha. Are you Bastion's secret girlfriend?"

Bastion turned blood red as Aelita giggled, "Yeah, as much as Alexa's a fairy princess."

Alexis giggled as well, "Point taken. Let's sit down and watch Jay and your sister duel."

Syrus and Alexa sat side by side in the front row with Bastion, Aelita, and Alexis. Mokuba and Kari shyly sat behind them and watched the duel begin.

"You better watch out!" Atilea laughed, "Cause I'm plannin' on a victory!"

"We'll see about that!" Jaden cried, "Now get your game on!"

"Same to you!" Atilea cried.

**A: 4000**

**J: 4000**

"Ladies first, if you don't mind." Atilea exclaimed, drawing quickly and she looked at her hand. "I'll start off with Witch of the Black Forest in defense mode!" A girl wearing a cloak with violet hair appeared on the field, kneeling. "Then I'm gonna set down two face-downs, ending my turn."

Witch of the Black Forest: Atk/1100 Def/1200

"C'mon, Ati! Get your game one!" Jaden smirked, drawing. "Now I'm gonna play Sparkman! Rise up!" A male warrior with golden body armor and a blue battle suit appeared on the field in attack mode. "Now attack! Static Shockwave!"

Elemental Hero Sparkman: Atk/1600 Def/1400

Witch of the Black Forest was destroyed by a surge of electrical energy, Atilea shielded her eyes with the sleeve of her red blazer before she smirked.

"Thanks Jaden!" she exclaimed.

Jaden blinked his chocolate brown eyes, "For what?"

"Activating my monster's special ability." Atilea replied. "When she's sent from the field to the graveyard, I can select one monster from my deck with defense 1500 or less." Atilea thumbed through her deck. "And I choose Gemini Elf!" Atilea shuffled her deck after adding the card to her hand and she replaced her deck in her duel disk. "Are you done?"

"I'll place down one card to end my turn." Jaden sighed.

Atilea drew and looked towards her friends. Aelita was watching anxiously, Alexa and Syrus were trying to decide who to root for, Mokuba was resting his arms on the seat in front of him and Kari was trying not to stare at him while she watched the duel. Bastion was pink in the face for some odd reason and Alexis was studying Atilea's methods.

"I'm going to bring out Gemini Elf!" Two elves appeared on the field. One brunette, the other blond. "Then I'm going to to activate one of my face-downs!" Atilea pressed a button on her duel disk. "De-Spell!"

Gemini Elf: Atk/1900 Def/0900

"Nice try, my face-down's a trap." Jaden smirked.

"Who said I was targetting _your_ facedown." replied Atilea.

"What?" everyone said confused.

"I use my De-Spell on my own spell and send it to the card graveyard!" cried Atilea, she destroyed the other face-down. "Now, I'm going to play Mystical Space Typhoon! Which destroy's your trap card!"

"What was that?" Syrus asked.

"Simple, Atilea tricked Jaden into telling her what his face-down was." Aelita explained. "Now she's wiping it out."

Negate Attack was sent to the Graveyard and Jaden looked up in worry.

"Gemini Elf, attack Sparkman with Double Kick!" commanded the sandy brown haired younger girl.

Sparkman was destroyed in one blow.

**A: 4000**

**J: 3700**

"Now I end my turn." said Atilea quietly.

Jaden drew his card and smiled, "I'm going to activate the field spell card, Fusion Gate!" He inserted it into the field card slot. "Now I can summon fusion monsters without a Polymerization card." He then picked two cards from his hand. "And I'm picking this one! Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster!"

Jaden sent Elemental Hero Burstinatrix, and Elemental Hero Clayman to the Graveyard. A stone woman with a red and gold shield along with a blaster appeared on the field in attack mode.

Elemental Rampart Blaster: Atk/2000 Def/2500

"Now, Rampart Blaster! Destory that Elf!" ordered Jaden, pointing directly at Gemini Elf.

"Argh!" Atilea gritted her teeth.

**A: 3900**

**J: 3700**

"Next, I'm going to play this spellcard. Oversoul!" Jaden cried.

"What's that do?" Alexa dared to ask.

"It allows Jaden to select one Normal Monster in his Graveyard that includes "Elemental Hero" in it's cardname. Then he gets to Special Summon it on his side of the field." Syrus explained.

"Thanks, Sy!" Jaden exclaimed. "I choose Sparkman and bring him back to the field in attack mode! And since my battle phase still continues, you loose another 1600 life points! Sweet, huh?"

Sparkman glided over to Atilea's side of the field and sent a blast of electrical energy upon her. Small sparks appeared over her body as she weakly stood up.

**A: 2300**

**J: 3700**

"Ati!" Bastion and Aelita both cried.

"I'm alright." Atilea said weakly, smiling. "Can I go yet?"

"Sure." Jaden replied.

Atilea drew her next card, "I'm activating the continuous trap card, Type Zero Magic Crusher!" A small machine appeared on the field. "Now for every Spell Card I discard, you take 500 points of direct damage!" Atilea picked two. "So I'm sending Gaia Power, and Non-Spellcasting Area to the graveyard! Say hello to 1000 points of direct damge! Then I'm gonna summon Mystical Elf to the field to guard my life points!"

Mystical Elf: Atk/0800 Def/2000

"Uh..." Jaden winced.

**A: 2300**

**J: 2700**

"Yeah!" Kari exclaimed, hopping up. "Go Atilea! Sweet move, sister!"

Mokuba eased Kari gently back in her seat, "Calm down, Kari..."

"You never let me have any fun..." pouted Kari.

"My turn." growled Jaden. "I'm gonna summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" Jaden sent the Sparkman on the field and the duplicate Clayman in his hand to the graveyard, dark clouds covered the arena ceiling and a giant wearing white and yellow appeared.

Thunder Giant: Atk/2400 Def/????

"And 'cause of his special ability, he can destroy one monster who's original attack points are less than his own!" Atilea's soft jade green eyes widened in horror. "Destroy Mystical Elf! Thunder Strike!" Atilea shielded her eyes, her last defense destroyed. "Now, you're wide open!"

Aelita closed her eyes, Alexa grabbed onto Syrus, Kari squeaked, Mokuba watched in fear, Bastion comforted Aelita, and Alexis smirked. Jaden grinned.

"Now for the Double Path Attack! Rocket Blasters!" Rampart Blaster fired multiple missles at Atilea, who covered her head with her arms.

"Argh!" she cried, falling to her knees.

**A: 0300**

**J: 2700**

"Now, Thunder Giant!" Jaden pointed directly at the trembling Atilea. "Take out the rest of her life points with Thunder Strike!"

"ATILEA!" Alexa, Aelita, and Kari all exclaimed as the blast hit her directly, smoke filled the room and slowly cleared.

**A: 0000**

**J: 2700**

Atilea looked up into Jaden's face. He gently pulled her to her feet.

"Hope my double threat didn't rock ya too hard." Jaden said sincirely. He held out his hand, "Good duel."

Atilea slowly took it and they shook hands.

"Are you okay?" Aelita demanded, leaping over the railing and hugging her sister. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Aelita, take a chill pill." Atilea replied. She adjusted her red bandana, her jade green eyes smiling. "I'm cool. Awesome duel, Jay. Looks like the better duelist won."

Jaden shook his head, "No, there is no better duelist. You are as good as I am. I'm glad you let me duel you with full intentions."

"Uh... kay." Atilea replied, she then spotted Mokuba. "Heeeeeey, you look familiar..."

Jaden, Syrus, Kari, and Mokuba all got a 'Yikes! We're-Dead!' anime look on their faces.

"Were you the boy I saw defending a squirrel earlier?" asked Atilea.

All four collapsed anime-style. Confusion swirls in their eyes. The other's all looked at them and laughed.

_These Devlin Twins are gonna be some serious double trouble for the Tag Team Competiton... _Mokuba thought. _But what am I gonna do about Kari?_

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A/N: Sorry 'bout all the typos last chappie. I didn't have time to proofread before I posted it. What did you think of the first duel? Pretty sweet, huh? Well, I'm off to go play Final Fantasy IX! Please R&R!

Anime Goddess and Protector


	5. Chapter 5: Afraid of Love

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX or its characters or the Devlin Twins. I also do not own anything Final Fantasy related. I only own Takari Maruzakashi and this idea. This is my 2nd fanfic! No Flamez please! Please R&R! Thx for reviewing the last chappie and I know I have the time messed up, but this is my fanfic. Okay, now onto the chappie!

Anime Goddess and Protector

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Chapter 5: Afriad of Love

"What's his deal?" Syrus asked as he entered Jaden's dorm the next morning.

Mokuba was sighing as he did his essay for Dr. Crowler's class. A frown on his face. Tyranno was lying on his bunk, staring at the ceiling. Jaden had been pulling on his sneakers when Syrus had arrived. The light blue haired boy sighed and got a demanding look on his face. A missing report flashed across Jaden's PDA, causing Mokuba to look even more depressed.

"Come on! What is wrong with you guys?!" exclaimed Syrus.

All three boys exchanged a glance before Jaden grabbed Syrus, locked the door, and planted him in a chair.

"Listen Sy, we have a MAJOR problem on our hands." Jaden said firmly.

Syrus blinked his silver eyes in confusion, "Hu

? We do?"

"The Tag Team Competiton Dance." Tyranno finally said. "We were all invited since we're competing and it says date required."

"AHH!" Syrus fell out of the chair and start whining. "That can't be! Now I'll never get to go!"

"Why not?" Mokuba asked, not used to the normal 'If-there's-a-date-I-can't-go!' Syrus ordeal.

"Sy is nervous around girls." Jaden explained. "So are the rest of us. I know SQUAT about love. Only dueling."

_So that's why he doesn't realize Alexis digs him..._ Mokuba realized. _Maybe I'm not alone in this..._

"So, who do you want to go with, Sarge?" Syrus asked before he almost started hyperventilating.

Tyranno turned completly red. No one but Bastion knew about his crush on Rae. Could he really trust them?

"If I tell you guys, you have to swear NOT to tell anyone else! Got it!" Tyranno threatened.

"Yeah!" Mokuba, Syrus, and Jaden chorused.

"Rae Andrews." Tyranno finally mumbled, clearly satisfied.

Syrus' eyes went wide before he fell anime-style. Mokuba sweatdropped as he remembered seeing Rae going off because the soda machine ate her money. Jaden only nodded slightly.

"Hmm..." Jaden smiled. "So, Sy."

The bluenette chibi-blushed.

"Who do you wanna go with?" asked Jaden, smirking.

"Uh... um..." Syrus began to rock back and forth while sitting crosslegged on the floor before he answered in a small, shy, quiet voice. "Alexa..."

"MAAKA?!" Tyranno and Jaden both anime collapsed with anime confusion swirls in their eyes as Mokuba chuckled.

"What's so funny?!" Syrus snapped. "I know for a fact you want to go with my cousin!"

Mokuba stopped laughing at once, his face the same color as his blazer. Jaden and Tyranno both had identical looks of surprise on their faces as they stared at the slightly shorter raven haired boy.

"JADEN YUKI! WHAT IS GOIN' ON IN THERE?!" a voice yelled from outside the door.

All four boys began to panic before Jaden looked out the door window. Atilea and Aelita stood outside, Atilea red in the face from yelling.

"OPEN THIS DOOR THIS INSTANT!" Atilea ordered.

Jaden did so very slowly and...

_**KONK!**_

Jaden was out cold on the floor.

"Sheesh! No one can concentrate for a thirty mile radius at the level of the noise comin' from here!" Atilea exclaimed as Mokuba, Syrus, and Tyranno scooted as far from Atilea and Aelita as possible. "Now what is goin' on in here?!"

"We're talking." Syrus said in a small voice, Aelita rolled her eyes at her twin and continued playing her Gameboy Advance SP. "What're ya playing, Aelita?"

"The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap." Aelita replied simply.

"Talking about what?" demanded Atilea, her jade green eyes narrowing.

"The dance..." Mokuba sighed, finding it best not to enrage Atilea any further by lying.

"Oh..." Atilea began to grin psychotically.

In a split second, she had pulled Mokuba to his feet by his shirt.

"Spill! Who are you planning on asking and when!" demanded Atilea.

"Ati! Let him go!" Aelita cried, her mouth agap. "Now!"

"Help me!" Mokuba cried at once.

Tyranno and Syrus exchanged a look before they pried Atilea off of their friend. She was STILL grinning psychotically while Mokuba started to tremble in fear.

"Why do you care so much?" Syrus asked.

Atilea made a face and indicated to her sister, "Cause I don't have a date. And she does."

"Who?" Mokuba and Tyranno said at once.

Aelita blushed slightly, "Bastion asked me."

"And now I want to know this instant." growled Atilea, she put her hands on her hips as Jaden finally woke up, rubbing his head.

"RUN!"

All four boys evaded the twins and took off down the metal stairs. Screaming their heads off. Aelita only hit her head in agony before she slowly backed away from her sister and into the dorm they were using while they were there. Atilea realized that her sister had locked her out a split second later.

"HEY! LEMME IN!" Atilea cried, pounding on the door.

"Can't hear you!" Aelita sang as she turned on her PS2 and started playing a RPG.

"AELITA AIMEE DEVLIN! YOU BETTER ANSWER THIS DOOR THIS INSTANT OR I'LL-"

"You'll what?!" Aelita demanded, cutting her off.

"Tell Bastion you're going to the dance with Chazz!" Atilea smirked.

"YOU WOULDN'T DARE!" Aelita unlocked the door, wrenched it open, and tackled her sister at once.

Kari arrived just then, "Uh... did I miss something?"

The twins were too busy having a catfight to pay attention.

"Oh-kay... have any idea where Cloud is?" Kari then asked.

"He ran away!" Both twins exclaimed.

"Thanks." Kari said, sweatdropping, before she quickly took off and ran towards the only place she could think of that they would be hiding...

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"You think they followed us?" Mokuba dared to ask from behind Syrus' bean bag chair.

"Dunno." Jaden's muffled reply came from the closet.

Tyranno shifted his head from behind a bookcase, "I hope not..."

Syrus peeked from underneath the bed, "I think it's safe to come out..." The door opened. "Or not!"

All four guys hid themselves from view as four people entered the dorm.

"Come on out, 'fraidy-cats." Alexa's voice sang. "They aren't here."

Syrus quickly scurried out from underneath the bed and leapt ontop on it, hiding something quickly behind his pillows. Alexa stared at him with her silver-blue eyes.

_Was that a teddybear? _Alexa thought in sheer surprise. _Aw! I love teddybears!_

_She's not wearing her reading glasses... _Syrus smiled. _It makes her even cuter..._

"You guys are such morons..." Rae muttered as she grabbed Tyranno by his ear and pulled him out from behind the bookcase.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow." Tyranno winced. "OW!"

Rae sheepishly let go as Kari threw the bean bag chair across the room and ontop of Syrus. She pulled Mokuba up by his red blazer sleeve.

"Cloud!" Kari said, knowing that some people in the room knew him as Cloud Coleson. "What are you doing?!"

"Uh... hiding?" Mokuba replied shortly.

"From what?" Kari demanded.

"Atilea..." Syrus, Tyranno, and Mokuba sheepishly replied.

Alexis yanked open the closet door and Jaden fell out, face first.

"Ow." he muttered as he stood up.

"Are you guys done being morons?" Rae asked.

They all nodded slowly.

"Good." Rae continued. "Now us girls are going outside."

And with that, Alexa, Kari, Alexis, and Rae exited the dorm. Closing the door with a slam. All the guys had looks on their faces that said 'And-you-thought-I-was-crazy-for-liking-her!' before they fought over who got to look out the window.

"What're they doing?" Tyranno asked.

"Lemme see! Lemme see!" Syrus cried, hopping so he could see out the window.

Kari and Alexis were on their PDA's as Rae and Alexa played Frisbee.

"Hey, Jay, you never told us who you want to ask." Syrus realized.

Jaden turned pink, Mokuba smirking.

"Come on... we told you. Sorta." Mokuba said, grinning and crossing his arms across his chest.

"Well... uh... I was sorta hoping that you guys could help me get up enough courage to ask Alexis." Jaden admitted, stretching his collar.

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_Geez, how can anyone be so clueless... _Rae thought annoyed as she threw the Frisbee back to Alexa. _We practically threw it out there that Alexis, Kari, and I wanted them to ask us to the dance, but NO! I had to like the most hardheaded, gruff, guy here! _

"Heads up!" Alexa cried, the next thing Rae knew, the side of her face was throbbing. "Oh! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Rae rubbed her bruised cheek and glared at the dark brown haired girl currently sweatdropping and apoligizing her head off. Kari and Alexis exchanged a look before they grabbed Alexa by her underarms and hightailed it out of there!

"GET BACK HERE TWERP!" roared Rae as she chased them around the dorms in hot pursuit.

"RUN!" Alexis shouted as they ran inside the dorms and down three or four corridors, trying to loose Rae. They hit a dead end, panting. "I think... I think we lost her..."

Kari held onto Alexa as they wheezed and wiped sweat off of their brows, "We have to hide somewhere..."

"WHERE'D YA ALL GO!?" Rae's voice cried out as she hit a dead end.

"Quick, Sy's dorm." Alexa whispered.

All three of them looked around the corner and saw the coast was clear before they rushed down the corridor and turned right. They reached Syrus' dorm quickly, wrenched open the door, and rushed inside to find all four boys sitting in the middle of the floor. All had looks of horror plastered on their faces as Alexis locked the door.

"What's goin' on, Lex?" Jaden asked quietly.

"Um..." Alexis blushed.

"I'M GOING TO GET YOU!" Rae's voice exploded. "IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"

Tyranno sighed, "That woman is gonna be the death of me..."

Alexa and Kari both were panting and flushed as they collapsed to their knees.

"That explains what's goin' on." Mokuba concluded before Syrus opened the mini-fridge and handed everybody a can of soda. "So, what's the deal with her? Why's she so mad?"

"Ask Alexa." Kari said, before sipping her soda.

"Well," Syrus said, turning to the silver-blue eyed girl.

"Uh... we were kinda playing Frisbee..." Alexa began, sweatdropping.

"Lemme guess," Tyranno interupted. "You accidently hit her and now she's goin' psycho on ya?"

Alexa nodded slightly and Syrus placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "It's okay. I do it all the time to Hassleberry."

Tyranno stood up, "I'm gonna go calm her down."

"Good luck!" chorused the rest of them.

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Rae finally collapsed in defeat, "Awright! You win!"

Her ebony black bangs that went to her shoulders hung over them as she weakly closed her eyes while sitting in front of the soda machines. She was dying of thrist and was completly wiped out from running after Kari, Alexis, and Alexa. Rae quickly put the money in the machine and selected a Coca Cola.

"C'mon..." Rae muttered in annoyance. "Damn!" She hit the machine in agony. "It ate my money!"

"Havin' issues?" Tyranno's voice smirked.

"Ty!" Rae whirled around, her face turning pink from embarrassment. "Yeah... the stupid machine ate my money..."

Tyranno smiled a half-smile before gently kicking the side of the machine, Rae's soda was dispensed at once and she sheepishly retrieved it before drinking it like she hadn't had anything to drink for days.

"Thanks Ty," Rae said, wiping her face afterwards. She tosed the empty can in a wastebasket. "What're you doing here?"

"What's wrong?" Tyranno demanded. "I can't wander around the dorms like you do?"

Rae blushed, "Well... er... I..."

The truth was, Rae felt more at home at the Ra Dorms than she did the Obelisk Dorms. She loved how quaint it was and she couldn't bring herself to like the high classy stuff that Obelisk offered. She wished that the school wasn't so discriminating and that girls could also be in Slifer and Ra as well as Obelisk. That way she could be closer to Tyranno...

"Rae..." Tyranno said, closing his dark forest green-brown eyes and he smiled. "What's up?"

"Nothing..." muttered Rae, shifting her feet somewhat.

"Doesn't sound like nothing." replied Tyranno.

Rae's icy green eyes widened behind her Avalanching Aussa like goggles and she began to feel nervous.

"Well... it's just this whole competiton." sighed Rae.

"So?" Tyranno countered.

"So, it's screwing with everyone's minds." Rae retorted. "And I hate it."

Tyranno blinked in puzzlement, "What'd ya mean?"

"Listen, Ty, we have to duel against each other... and neither of us likes to loose." Rae began, looking at her feet. "And it's already messing with people's hearts. Alexa might be dueling Syrus... and I have to duel you..."

Her icy green eyes shifted to his for a moment or two before she quickly looked back down.

"Yeah, that's gonna be hard on Truesdale and Alexa." Tyranno sighed. "They obviously like each other that way."

Tyranno re-thought Rae's words and he felt his heart skip a beat. Her hands were folded in front of her and her ebony black locks fell down the sides of her face. Her left cheek was red from where Alexa had accidently hit her with the Frisbee and she closed her eyes. Tyranno stared at her and began to blush.

"Rae... why is this REALLY upsetting you?" Tyranno dared to ask.

Rae refused to respond, a lump forming in her throat. _No, don't cry Alison. Don't give into the tears. You haven't cried since your mom passed away. Don't start now. Especially in front of HIM. Don't cry..._ Rae fought with herself.

"Alison." Tyranno tried again, this time placing both hands on her shoulders and she finally looked up, tears brimming her eyes. "Please, don't be upset."

"You don't get it, do you?" laughed Rae.

Tyranno smiled slightly, "Get what?"

"Nevermind..." sighed Rae before she began to pull away.

"Alison! Wait!" Tyranno exclaimed, grabbing her shoulder.

"Yeah?" she asked quietly.

Tyranno grinned sheepishly before he blurted, "You wanna goto the dance together?"

"Uh..." Rae's face turned bright red. "Oh...kay."

Tyranno smiled, "Great!"

"Um... see ya, Ty." Rae said, smiling softly before she hurried down a corridor and leaned against the wall.

_He actually asked me! I couldn't be any happier! _

Tyranno thought Rae was gone so he let out a whispered/yelled, "YES!"

_What the-? _Rae smiled, hearing his outburst. _He seems happy too..._

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"Wow, seven already?" yawned Kari as she glanced at her watch. "We better go..."

Alexa and Alexis stood up and stretched.

"Aw, do you have to?" asked Syrus.

"Sorry, Sy." Alexa apoligized quickly. "But we have to go to our dorms and study."

Syrus looked down cast at once, Alexa was the only one not to notice, causing Jaden and Mokuba to snicker.

"Night." Kari said softly to Mokuba, he swore he saw a flicker of sadness in her silver eyes. "Cloud."

"Night, Kari." Mokuba replied, he couldn't bring himself to ask her just yet.

Kari then left the dorm and waited for Alexis.

"I'll see you tomorrow you guys." Alexis said to Syrus, Jaden, and Mokuba. "Oh, and thanks for hiding us from Rae."

"No prob." Jaden grinned.

Alexis smiled with her light golden brown eyes before she quickly left with Kari. Alexa looked at Syrus one last time before she quietly went to the door and exited into the darkening corridor.

"Where's he goin'?" Jaden muttered as Syrus hopped up and rushed out of the dorm.

Mokuba shrugged before staring out the window, the moonlight reflecting in his dark eyes...

"Hey! Alexa! Wait up!" Syrus' voice exclaimed from behind her.

The Nanobreaker look-a-like stopped short, her cloak moving with her body as she turned around to face the light blue haired boy. He reached her quickly.

"What is it, Syrus?" Alexa asked slowly.

Her heart was thumping in her chest. Her palms were sweaty and she was beginning to feel a blush creep towards her face. Syrus stood there, grinning from ear to ear. His grey eyes smiling from behind his glasses. Moonlight filled the almost deserted corridor. Alexa shifted her weight to her left leg and stared at Syrus, waiting for a reply as her stomach did flips.

"Let's take a walk." Syrus said suddenly.

_Uh... okay then... _Alexa thought, trying hard not to sweatdrop. _We're gonna take a walk..._

"Alrighty." Alexa agreed before the two teenagers exited to Ra Dorms and walked towards the gazebo.

"So... do you like Duel Academy?" Syrus asked cooly.

"Yes, very much." nodded Alexa. "It's very nice and peaceful."

"Yeah, that's one of its good qualities." Syrus agreed. He smiled shyly. "What do you do in your spare time?"

"Well, when I'm not training Atilea or Aelita, I'm usually reading a book and listening to music." Alexa giggled.

"What type of music do you like?" Syrus then asked.

"Soft music. And some of this, and some of that..." answered Alexa quietly.

"Example?" said Syrus slowly.

"Example?" Alexa repeated, she then got a thinking expression on her face. "Well, Fleetwood Mac, Eurythmics, Heart, Michelle Branch, Jackson Browne, Melodies of Life, and other stuff, I guess."

"Um... don't get mad at me for asking, but who's Fleetwood Mac?" Syrus asked, shuffling his feet as they reached the gazebo's entrance.

Alexa got the 'You've-gotta-be-kiddin'-me' look on her face before she giggled.

"How about I sing ya on of their songs?" Alexa asked, her silver-blue eyes shining.

"Er... alright." Syrus agreed.

A/N: (sigh) I CAN'T RESIST! I must have music in my fics! So, Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN FLEETWOOD MAC'S 'Silver Springs'. SO DON'T SUE!

_You could be my silver springs_

_Blue green colors flashin'_

_I would be your only dream_

_Your shining autumn, ocean crashing_

_And did you say she was pretty_

_And did you say that she loves you_

_Baby, I don't wanna know_

_I'll begin not to love you_

_Turn around, see me runnin'_

_I'll say I loved you years ago_

_Tell myself you never loved me, no_

_And did you say she was pretty_

_And did you say that she loves you_

_Baby, I don't wanna know_

_Oh, no_

_And can you tell me was it worth it_

_Really, I don't wanna know_

_Time casts a spell on you, but you won't forget me_

_I know I could have loved you, but you would not let me..._

_Time casts a spell on you, but you won't forget me_

_I know I could have loved you, but you would not let me_

_I'll follow you down til the sound of my voice will haunt you_

_You'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you_

_I'll follow you down til the sound of my voice will haunt you_

_You'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you_

_I'll follow you down til the sound of my voice will haunt you_

_You'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you..._

_You could be my silver springs_

_My blue green colors flashin'..._

Alexa ended the song with a soft note and she shyly stared at her feet.

"Wow." Syrus managed to say. "That was great."

"Thanks." said Alexa quietly.

"What's wrong?" Syrus asked.

Alexa and Syrus sat down next to each other in the gazebo, "Nothing..."

"Doesn't sound like nothing..." Syrus couldn't help but mutter.

"You're right... it's just that Silver Springs always reminds me of HIM." Alexa admitted, her hands folded in her lap.

"Who?" asked Syrus gently.

"My first boyfriend." Alexa said quietly.

"You were... serious?" Syrus asked, he tried keeping the hurt out of his voice.

"No. But I liked him for a long time." Alexa admitted, she shook her head and pulled one of her legs close to her body and rested her chin on it.

"What happened?" Syrus questioned.

"He left me." Alexa replied quietly. "For a girl I THOUGHT was my friend. Turns out she was nothin' but a snake."

"What was his name...?" whispered Syrus.

"It doesn't matter." sighed Alexa. She looked at Syrus, "Thank you... for talking to me."

"Anytime!" said Syrus hastily.

_Hopefully she won't ask the reason I chased her down..._

"So, why'd you stop me?" Alexa then asked.

_Dang! Just my luck..._

"Um..." stammered Syrus. "A-Alexa... I-I was wondering if..." He trailed off in embarrassment, his face crimson. "Uh..."

"Syrus? Please spit it out." Alexa pleaded.

"Youwouldgotothedancewithme." Syrus mumbled in one breath.

"Uh..." Alexa sweatdropped. "Sy, I didn't understand a word you just said."

Syrus took a deep breath and tried again, finally blurting out, "You would goto the dance with me!?"

Alexa stared at him and frowned, her eyes darkened and she looked into her lap.

"I'm sorry Syrus, but someone already asked me... and..." Alexa began, she looked surprisingly upset.

"You said yes." gulped Syrus.

Alexa nodded, "I tried to wait... I truly did, but you waited too long."

Syrus felt as if his world had come crashing down. His heart was broken and a lump was forming in his throat. Syrus looked away from the Queen of Machines and stared at his Ra Yellow Sneakers.

"Who are you going with?" Syrus asked in a hollow voice.

"Blaze Tride." Alexa admitted in a small voice.

Syrus stood up, "I have to go."

"Syrus, wait!" Alexa exclaimed suddenly, grabbing his wrist. "You don't understand! I only agreed to go with Blaze because I was afriad you would never ask me and I didn't want to show up without a date!"

Syrus stared at her pleading silver-blue eyes and fought back the hot tears trying so hard to flow over. He gently pulled his wrist free and walked away. Leaving his friend behind. She closed her eyes and looked down, her dark brown locks falling into her face. She then hit the bench in pure rage.

_Dammit! I had to be stupid! I had to hurt Syrus! _Tears started to slide down her face. _Why do I have to be afraid of love? Why?_

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A/N: Another chappie completed. Now what's gonna happen between Sy and Alexa? Will they learn the truth or will they continue living a lie? And what the heck are Jaden and Mokuba gonna do about asking Alexis and Kari? Please R&R!

Anime Goddess and Protector


	6. Chapter 6: Double Duels

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX or its characters or the Devlin Twins. I also do not own anything Final Fantasy related. I only own Takari Maruzakashi and this idea. This is my 2nd fanfic! No Flamez please! Please R&R! Thx for reviewing the last chappie and I know I have the time messed up, but this is my fanfic. Okay, now onto the chappie!

Anime Goddess and Protector

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Chapter 6: Double Duels

"Atilea... Atilea... Atilea!" Duke Devlin cried into his PDA. "Calm down!"

"She's upset?" Serenity Wheeler stopped looking at a packet of Duel Monsters cards and laughed. "What happened this time?"

"Apparantly, Aelita and her got into another catfight." Duke sweatdropped. "They HAVE to be MY sisters."

"Oh, cut it out." Serenity playfully pushed him. "They're great girls."

"Thanks Serenity!" Atilea did a peace sign and grinned from the screen. "I always knew my dopey brother would find someone smart and pretty! Even if he's not..."

Aelita tackled her out of the window, "Don't forget me!"

"Aw, yes, the insanity continues." Duke sighed. "Aelita... is Ati okay?"

Aelita sweatdropped and looked at her semi-concious barely younger sister. She shook her head slowly and Duke anime-fell sideways. Serenity quickly caught the PDA in her free hand.

"So, how's DA?" Serenity asked.

"Okay, I'm glad we transferred here." Aelita replied. "Except Alexa's having some boy problems and our new friend Kari is trying not to murder the boy who caused the problems, who happens to be her cousin."

"Kari?" Serenity repeated. "Dark brown hair, styled like mine, silver eyes?"

"That's the one!" Atilea cried, knocking Aelita over. "How'd you know?"

Serenity paused as her hand slowly went to the locket shaped like a Duel Monsters card around her neck. She opened it and held it up to Atilea and Aelita's view.

"Serenity's Blessing...?" both read. "That looks like ya, Serenity!"

"It's an older form of Kari... she gave me this when she was twelve-years-old." Serenity explained, Duke picked himself up, his bright jade green eyes widening. "Can I please speak with Kari?"

"Well, she's in Sy's dorm... so I guess we can kidnap her." Atilea replied, staring at the ceiling.

Aelita giggled, "Should I get the rope?"

"ROPE?!" the couple exclaimed in horror.

"Kidding!" sang Aelita and Atilea.

"I'll go get her." Atilea volunteered, she disappeared.

"So, how's Yugi Moto and the gang doing?" Aelita asked.

"Joey and Mai are doing great." Serenity giggled. "Except for the hardheadedness that Joey has."

"Do you know the date for the first match for the TTC?" Duke asked.

"This Saturday at noon. Why?" Aelita replied, her dark jade green eyes shining.

"'Cause we're thinking on comin' up to see it." Duke said slowly.

Double shrieks came from the PDA and Duke quickly plugged his ears as Atilea and a girl he didn't recognize appeared on the screen.

_She looks so much like Serenity... is it possible they're related? _Duke thought when he got a good look at her.

"Serenity?" Kari said in surprise. "It's been three years... how've ya been?"

"Great, Kari. You?" Serenity replied.

Kari half-smiled, "Just fine... what did you want to talk to me about?"

Serenity sighed, "It's about your father."

"My... father?" Kari looked completly confused, before her eyes filled with anger. "I have no father!"

"Kari." Serenity said quietly. "You do... I know... because..."

"Because, why?" shot Kari.

"I've tried to tell you for so long..." Serenity's eyes filled with tears. "I know because... your father... is... my father."

"YOU'RE HALF-SISTERS?!" Atilea, Aelita, and Duke all anime-fell sideways with confusion swirls in their eyes.

"Kari, you must listen to me!" Serenity exclaimed, trembling. "My father tried to take you in, but they wouldn't let him! He loved your mother very much and he wanted to save you from those six years in the orphanage!"

"Serenity..." Kari had tears running down her face. "I can't just accept this... I need to hear this from him..."

"He's coming with us to the TTC, you can be reunited then." Serenity wiped her eyes along with Kari. "I want you to know that Joey and I love you, little sister."

"J-Joey knows?" Kari choked out. "Can I speak with him?"

"I'll send you our cell numbers and you can call him." Serenity said, calming herself. "But to save you the torture at school, no one will know that you're our sister. And you can keep your mother's maiden name as your last name."

"Well, this explains the similarities..." muttered the Devlins.

"We'll see you Saturday." Serenity said, before she handed the PDA to Duke.

"So... uh... try not to murder ANYONE until I get there." Duke told his sisters.

"Okiedokie!" both cried in unison.

"You two REALLY need to stop that." sweatdropped Duke before they said goodbye and he hung up. "Serenity? Are you alright?"

She was staring at her sneakers, "Yes... and I will finally be able to tell Takari all the secrets about her past."

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"Are you gonna call him?" Atilea demanded.

"I... dunno." admitted Kari slowly. "How will he react?"

"You'll never know until you call." Aelita pointed out. "He is your brother."

Kari sighed, "I guess you're right, Aelita." She pulled out her cell phone. "It's a good thing I get service out here."

She dialed the number and put the phone to her ear, her heart pounding. Joey Wheeler's voice soon reached her ears.

"Hello?" Joey said.

"J-Joey?" Kari stammered. "This is Takari Maruzakashi... your sister."

Joey nearly anime-fell, his dark brown eyes widening at the sound of his long lost half-sister's voice.

"Kari?! How have ya been?!" Joey cried in surprise.

"Good... Serenity just told me." Kari replied quietly. "How have you been?"

"Good. Yuge and I held a duel and for once, I beat him!" Joey cried. "It's great to hear from you!"

"How long have you known about this?" Kari demanded.

"Dad... found out a year ago and we've been trying to get in touch with ya." Joey admitted sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." Kari assured him.

Joey mushroom breathed in victory, "So, how's Rich Boy's Academy? I heard that Mokuba ran away too."

"I love DA. I've made so many friends in so little time." Kari said. "Yeah, I've been worried about Mokuba."

Aelita and Atilea paused as they thought of Mokuba Kaiba. Forming a mental picture, they then pictured Cloud Coleson. Very slowly, they put the pieces together and gasped. Kari noticed this and got the panicing look on her face.

"Joey! I gotta go! Something just came up!" Kari cried quickly.

"Alright. I'll talk to ya later then, sis." Joey replied. "Bye."

"Bye!" Kari hung up and quickly covered Aelita's and Atilea's mouths. "Don't. Say. A. Word."

"Mokuba is Cloud!" was Atilea's muffled reply.

"Why did he run away?" Aelita added, muffled.

"Because Rich Boy's not himself!" hissed Kari. "And if either of you get Mokuba exposed, I'll personally drop kick you and throw you over the cliff!" Aelita and Atilea exchanged a look, "I know where you sleep!"

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"Hey! They posted the first duel listing!" Jaden cried, running towards Bastion, Aelita, Mokuba, Kari, Tyranno, Rae, Alexa, and Atilea. "You'll never guess who's dueling first!"

"We give up." laughed Rae. "Just tell us, Jay."

"Kari is! And she's going against an Obelisk named Lissa!"

"ME?!" Kari anime-collapsed and landed on her bottom. "But I can't be in the first match!"

"Lissa's a third year too... and I've seen her duel." Bastion replied. "She won't be easy to defeat, Kari."

"Oh man!" Kari nearly looked ready to cry. "Now I'll disappoint my sibilings and my father! This can't be happening!"

She had immediately told all her closest friends about the secret Serenity had revealed to her. They all swore to take it to the grave. Syrus was completly stunned, but he was still avoiding Alexa so he was hanging out with Alexis at the moment.

Mokuba leaned next to her and smiled, "It's okay, Kari. I'll help you prepare... you'll do great!"

"You think so?" sniffled Kari. "Cloud?"

"I know so." Mokuba whispered, holding his hand out. She grasped it and he pulled her to her feet, smiling. "That's the Final Fantasy Warrior I know!"

"You're right! I can do this!" Kari cried in excitement.

"There's something else." Jaden said seriously. "These are the preliminaries. That means single duels and there's another match directly after Kari's."

"Okay, who's match is it?" Aelita asked.

"It's... Ati's." Jaden gulped when Atilea suddenly glared at him.

"YOU IDIOT! NEXT TIME TELL ME FIRST!" roared Atilea, chasing him.

"I'm sorry! I'm SORRY!" Jaden screamed, running for his life. "Somebody help me!"

"Um... who wants ice cream!" sang Aelita. "Let's go get some!"

"Fine with me!" the others chorused before they hightailed it outta there.

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Kari pulled on the silver headband and sighed. It was Saturday and only an hour was left until the first official match of the Tag Team Competion. The prelims were to decide which duelists were going to compete together and who against. Kari's silver eyes landed on her Guardian Forces deck and she tilted her head.

"I wonder what Joey will say when he sees me." Kari muttered. "It must be awkward for him to suddenly find out that he has another sister." Kari's eyes landed on a portrait of the Truesdales'. "At least Sy and Zane aren't related to them. That would be chaotic."

A/N: Guardian Forces, otherwise known as Eidolons and Aeons, are mystical summoning creatures that assist you in battle in the Final Fantasy RPGs.

"Knock, knock! Can I come in?" Rae's voice teased as she stuck her head in the dorm.

"Oh, hiya, Rae. You seem cheerful." replied Kari, weakly smiling.

_It does seem odd. I think it might be because of Tyranno asking her to the dance. _

"I found out some information on your opponent." Rae replied, sitting on an armchair. "Her name is Melissa Oliver and she's a third year, competing in the competion in hopes to go on to the Pros. She uses a random deck, so you'll have an advantage."

"Random deck?" repeated Kari.

"Her deck doesn't consist of one type. It's a mix of several decks." explained Rae. "So, you nervous?"

"I'm about to duel in front of my Pro Duelist brother, my sister, my unknown father, and the entire school and you're asking me if I'm nervous?"

"Point taken." Rae stood up. "I hope you win, Kari."

"Thanks Rae." Kari smiled.

"I'll be sitting with Cloud, so holler if you need some support!" Rae winked. "Oh, and take down this chick or I'll NEVER forgive ya."

"Deal."

Obelisk Stadium:

"Wow... sure is alot of people." muttered Kari, shielding her eyes from the bright lights. "I hope that-"

Her voice faded as her eyes landed on Joey and Serenity Wheeler sitting next to Chancellor Crowler. A man with blond hair and brown eyes sat next to Serenity. Kari trembled at the sight of her biological father. Mokuba hiding his eyes and face from the Wheelers' view. He couldn't risk being recognized. Serenity saw the look of fear on Kari's face and face faulted. She whispered something to her father and he saw Kari.

"Welcome to the first official match in the TTC preliminaries!" Crowler said into a microphone. "This match is the start of the competition and our duelists are..."

Vice Chancellor Boneaparte took over, "Lissa Oliver! One of our top ranking third years! And, Kari Maruzakashi! One of the highest scoring Freshman in the overall recent exams!"

"First off, Pro Duelist, Joey Wheeler would like to say something to the competitors!" Crowler said. "Lissa, Kari, please come forth."

A girl with curly dirty blond hair and chocolate brown eyes stepped forward to the area in front of the Wheelers, Crowler, and Boneaparte. Kari slowly made her way over to them.

"I hope yer ready for this, girls!" Joey said brightly. "Just let the heart of the cards guide ya!"

"Thank you..." Lissa stepped towards the middle of the arena.

"Joey... Serenity..." Kari said quietly, her father stared at her without speaking. "Thank you.."

Kari went to the middle of the arena and Lissa and Kari shuffled the decks before going to their designated spots.

_I have to win... for my family... my real family. _Kari thought.

"Let's Duel!" they cried, drawing.

A/N: Reminder! Kari duels with an almost complete OC deck that I created! It's not perfect and there are some weaknesses in it, so I claim that it is not a Mary-Sue Deck! Haha!

**K: 4000**

**L: 4000**

"I'll go first, kiddo." Lissa said, smirking. "I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guard in defense mode!"

Obnoxious Celtic Guard: Atk/1400 Def/1200

"And that'll do it!"

Kari drawed and looked at her hand, "Fine, I'll start with Ifrit!"

Ifrit: Atk/1400 Def/1000

A great beast with a flaming red mane and brown fur appeared out of a firey crater forming. He crossed his arms and stared at the Guard with orange slitted eyes.

"What the heck is that?" Lissa demanded.

"This is a Guardian Force! One of the great protectors!" Kari smirked. "And one of the rarest types of cards that have ever been made!"

"Whatever. He looks like an ugly beast." Lissa muttered.

"Did I forget to mention his special ability? For every monster on the field on the turn he's summoned, his attack and defense increase by 400 points." Kari said, fire engulfed Ifrit as he gained more power.

Ifrit: Atk/1800 Def/1400

"Attack! Hell Fire!" Kari commanded.

"So what!?" Lissa cried as her monster shattered into a million shards and Ifrit's attack and defense dropped back to its normal points. "This duel isn't over yet! My go!" She drew. "I summon Harpie's Brother in attack mode!"

Harpie's Brother: Atk/1800 Def/0600

"Destory that beast!" Lissa ordered.

**K: 3600**

**L: 4000**

"Then I'll place down one facedown and end my turn." Lissa finished.

Kari saw Jaden waving a sign with Syrus and Alexis and smiled. Atilea and Aelita both carrying their Moogle plushie and Carbuncle plushie. Mokuba gave her a thumbs up.

"I'll start with this GF!" Kari held out one of her cards. "Diablos! Come forth!"

A demon with a dark aura rose from a small black and violet electrical orb with his arms crossed. He uncrossed them and stanced himself.

Diablos: Atk/1900 Def/1600

"Now, attack Harpie's Brother!" Kari cried. "Dark Messenger!"

"I activate Waboku!" Lissa cried hastily as Harpie's brother was shattered. "Your attack is useless!"

**K: 3600**

**L: 4000**

"Then I'll place two facedowns on the field and end my turn." Kari panted.

"Battle Footballer, rise up!" Lissa shouted. "Defense mode!"

Battle Footballer: Atk/1000 Def/2100

"Pretty powerful, these Guardian Forces, right Sis?" Joey said to Serenity. "Kari's pretty strong."

"Yes... she is." Serenity replied, her hand over her locket.

"There! That should keep me safe for awhile." said Lissa satisfied.

"Not for long! My draw!" Her silver eyes scanned over her hand. "I'm going to summon the Diva of Ice! Shiva!"

A light blue skinned, aqua haired, diva appeared in a spike of ice. Tossing a shimmering cloak that Kari caught. She held her hand out as she floated down next to Kari.

Shiva: Atk/1600 Def/1300

"And thanks to Shiva's special ability, on the turn she's summoned, all fire and pyro-type monsters are automatically destroyed!" Kari waved goodbye to Lissa's monster. "You go bye-bye, now." Lissa's defense shattered in one blow. "Now, time for the double threat! Dark Messenger, Diablos!"

**K: 3600**

**L: 2100**

"Argh!" Lissa gritted her teeth in pain. "Uh..."

"Now, Shiva, Diamond Dust!" cried Kari, holding her gloved hand out and indicating to Lissa.

**K: 3600**

**L: 0500**

"She's almost done for!" Mokuba cried out. "Keep it up, Kari!"

"C'mon!" Rae, Alexis, Alexa, Aelita, and Atilea shouted.

"Ati! Watch it!" Duke Devlin cried, dodging Atilea's Moogle, which she was waving.

"Now, I'm going to activate my facedown." Kari pressed a button on her duel disk. "Guardian Calling."

"I don't wanna know..." moaned Lissa.

"I can now automatically summon one Guardian Force from my hand in attack mode!" Kari cried in triumph. "Rise up. Siren!"

A blond fairy-like creature appeared on the field. She opened her mouth and a beautiful melody escaped from it.

Siren: Atk/1500 Def/1000

"Guess you already know what's next!" Kari said determined. "Silent Voice!"

A series of soundwaves hit Lissa directly and smoke filled the area. It cleared slowly and Lissa collapsed.

**K: 3600**

**L: 0000**

"And that's game!" winked Kari before she smiled at Jaden.

"WAY TO GO KARI!" Jaden and everyone cried in victory.

"Our winner, Kari Maruzakashi!" Crowler cried into the microphone. "She will move onto the first round! We shall take a fifteen minute intermission to prepare for the next duel!"

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"That's my cue!" Atilea hit Kari in the arm and smirked. "Wish me luck, guys!"

"Madmoiselle Maruzakashi." Boneaparte appeared, causing Kari to jump. "Minsore Wheeler has requested you come and watch the next match with him and his sister."

"H-He has?" Kari stammered.

"Please, follow me." Boneaparte replied.

Kari looked warily at her friends and they all hugged her and wished her good luck quietly. Mokuba squeezed her hand gently before he quickly caught up with Jaden and Syrus. Duke nodded slightly before he went to sit with Aelita and torture her even more about Bastion. Kari took a deep breath before she followed the short fat bald french man towards her half-sibilings and father.

"Hiya, Kari!" Joey waved as his younger half-sister appeared. "Have a seat."

"Okay." replied Kari shyly, sitting in the seat inbetween Joey and Serenity.

"I'm Austin Wheeler." the blond man said, holding his hand out.

A/N: I'm randomly giving him a name cause I have no clue what Mr. Wheeler's first name is. DON'T SUE!

"Takari Maruzakashi." Kari replied, shaking it. She gritted her teeth and lowered her voice to barely above a growl. "Your abandoned daughter."

Austin blinked it surprise, pain filling his heart at once. He should've known that Kari wouldn't just forgive and forget. Serenity patted Austin's arm and Joey shared a glance with his sister.

"Kari..." all three began at once.

"The second official match is about to begin!" Crowler suddenly cried, "Our two duelists are Kaede Hasegawa, a second year Obelisk! And the transfer student from the ADA, and Duke Devlin's adopted sister, Atilea Devlin!"

"Oh no! She had to bring the Moogle?!" Duke and Aelita moaned in unison. "We're so dead!"

A girl with earth green hair and light brown eyes walked onto the arena. Atilea smirked as she looked at her competition and placed the Moogle in a open red and black backpack strapped on her back.

"So, there sending in the American Slifer brat?" Kaede shot. "This should be cake."

"Yeah, for me, grandma!" Atilea shot back.

"Grandma?!" Kaede growled. "I'm gonna make you eat those words, brat!"

They shuffled their decks and drew their hands, growling at one another with deep loathing already.

**A: 4000**

**K: 4000**

"I won't loose easily to you!" Atilea cried, pointing at her. "Age before beauty!"

Kaede scowled as she drew, "Fine then! I'll start with this card! White Magician Pikeru, attack mode!"

White Magician Pikeru: Atk/1200 Def/0000

"A spellcaster deck?" Kari said in surprise. "Battle of the Spellcasters!"

"This won't help any..." muttered Atilea. "You finished yet, Lady?"

"Yeah. Start you pathetic little turn." Kaede replied.

Atilea drew and grinned, "Say buh-bye to that little Pikeru! Cause I got Gemini Elf!"

Gemini Elf: Atk/1900 Def/0900

"Attack!" Atilea commanded. "Double kick!"

**A: 4000**

**K: 3300**

"You'll pay for that!" roared Kaede.

"Then I'll place two facedowns on the field and end my turn." ended Atilea.

"My go then, kiddo! I'll summon my own Gemini Elf to the field!" Kaede cried.

Gemini Elf: Atk/1900 Def/0900

"Then, I'll be equiping Invigoration to it!" Kaede smirked. "Too much for you, little one?"

Gemini Elf: Atk/2300 Def/0700

"Little?!" Atilea looked offended. "That does it!"

"Attack that other elf!" ordered Kaede.

"Not so fast! I activate Enchanted Javelin!" Atilea activated her first facedown. "This trap allows me to recieve the same number of your monster's attack points to my life points!"

**A: 6300**

**K: 3300**

"So what!? You're loosing some anyway!" Kaede shot.

**A: 5900**

**K: 3300**

"Not for long." Atilea replied. "Finished?"

"For now." replied Kaede.

"I'm going to play this Continuous Trap! Type Zero Magic Crusher!" Atilea shouted, the machine appeared. "Now, by discarding spell cards from my hand, you loose 500 points of damage for each one!" She pulled out four out of six cards. "Say buh-bye to 2000 points, Grandma!"

**A: 5900**

**K: 1300**

"Next, I'm going to play Monster Reborn, to bring back my Gemini Elf!" Atilea cried. "But it won't be staying for long, 'cause I'm gonna sacrifice it to summon the Diva of my deck! Limited Edition DMG!"

Dark Magician Girl appeared and twirled her sceptor, grinning. Atilea smiled at her and she returned it.

Dark Magician Girl: Atk/2000 Def/1700

"So, your stupid Magician's still weaker than my Elf." Kaede reminded her.

"Not for long." replied Atilea. "I'm going to activate my other facedown. I placed it on the field to be safe!" She revealed a spell card. "Malevolent Nuzzler! It increases my DMG's attack by 700 points!"

Dark Magician Girl: Atk/2700 Def/1700

"Dark Sceptor Strike!" commanded Atilea.

**A: 5900**

**K: 0900**

"Are you finished?" winced Kaede.

"Yeah." Atilea was completly out of cards and looked wiped. "I am."

"Okay, I'm gonna place one card facedown and summon Mystical Elf in defense mode."

Mystical Elf: Atk/0800 Def/2000

"My draw!" Atilea cried, she smirked. "Perfect."

"Oh no..." groaned Kaede.

"I'm going to equip another card to my DMG! Sword of Dark Destruction!"

Dark Magician Girl: Atk/3100 Def/1500

"Next, I'll destroy your Mystical Elf! Ending my turn!"

"I'm gonna play my facedown! Swords of Revealing Light!" Kaede cried. A wall of swords surronded the DMG Look-a-Like and she scowled. "Next, I'll play Neo the Magic Swordsman in attack mode!"

Neo the Magic Swordsman: Atk/1700 Def/1000

"Then, I'll play my own Monster Reborn! Bringing back my Gemini Elf!" Kaede cried out, smirking.

Gemini Elf: Atk/1900 Def/0900

"Are you done yet?" Atilea demanded.

"Go ahead, brat." Kaede replied shortly.

Atilea drew, "I can't attack, but I can still summon! First, I'll play Pot of Greed! Allowing me to draw two cards! Then, I'm gonna summon Witch of the Black Forest!" a violet haired cloaked girl appeared on the field in defense mode. "Then, I'll play Call of the Haunted!"

Witch of the Black Forest: Atk/1100 Def/1200

"Equiping it to my own Gemini Elf!" Atilea smirked. "Your go, Grandma."

Kaede twitched with anger marks forming above her head before she drew.

"I'll end my turn."

Atilea shrugged while drawing, "Fine with me. I'll summon Neo the Magic Swordsman too."

Neo the Magic Swordsman: Atk/1700 Def/1000

The swords disappeared and Kaede sighed.

"Two Neos and Two Geminis?" she shook her head. "At this rate..." Kaede collapsed to her knees, her hand on the center of her duel disk. "I surrender."

Gasps filled the stadium and Atilea anime-collapsed.

"Look! I know it seems hopeless, but you can't give in if things start lookin' bad!" Atilea hollered, Kaede blinked her light brown eyes. "You're doing great, Kaede, and if you truly want to surrender, I'm not gonna stop ya... But if you believe in yourself and let your heart guide you, you'll become the best that you can be..."

"Who told you that?" Kaede asked.

Atilea smiled softly, "Jaden Yuki. The day we first met at my brother's game shop."

Flashback: 7 Years Ago

"So, this is his gameshop." the eight-year-old Aelita said as she and Atilea entered Duke Devlin's shop. "Duke sure likes flashy stuff."

Both girls were wearing identical outfits of black overall shorts, red shirts, red and black converse hightops, and black baseball caps. Their straight sandy brown hair was identically shoulder length. Atilea was carrying the Moogle plushie in her arms while Aelita held her Green Carbuncle plushie's arm in her hand. They looked around in awe.

"Hey, Ati... are you glad that Mommy and Daddy adopted us?" Aelita asked.

"I'm glad to be outta that orphanage... and yeah. I guess I am. Except the whole Duke annoyed with us thing."

"Hey, I'm gonna go and and get a soda." Aelita declared. "I'll be back shortly. Why don'tcha go and play some games, Atilea?"

"Alright. See ya later, sis!" Atilea cried, rushing off towards the duel arenas. "Wow!"

"Hey! You new here?" a boy's voice exclaimed from behind the bruenette. "I'm Jaden."

A boy wearing a red cap backwards with jeans, a red tee, and a white zipup windbreaker smiled. He looked about nine. Atilea automatically stared at his chocolate brown eyes and felt her face growing warm. His dark brown hair was styled cooly and stopped at his chin.

"Hi... I'm Atilea. Duke Devlin's adopted sister." Atilea said shyly. "Yeah, this is the first time that Duke's allowed me in here."

"Do you have a twin?" Jaden blurted out.

"Yeah, her name's Aelita." nodded Atilea. "Why do you ask?"

"I saw a girl exactly like you, I thought you were her but then I saw your stuffed animal." Jaden explained.

"How old are you?" Atilea asked shyly.

"Nine." Jaden replied. "And you?"

"Eight." Atilea said.

She spotted Aelita across the room talking to a raven haired, dark brown eyed, boy wearing a pair of white pants and a longsleeved white shirt.

"Your brother... what's he like?" Jaden asked.

"Egotistical to some extent." replied Atilea.

"Are you a duelist?" Jaden then said, eyeing a deck holder attached to Atilea's overalls. "'Cause if you are, wanna have a quick match?"

"I am. And, okay. I'll duel you!" said Atilea brightly.

Twenty Minutes Later...

"Hey, it's okay..." Jaden kneeled down next to Atilea. She was on her knees and on the verge of tears. "I know loosing hurts, but if you believe in yourself and let your heart guide you, you'll become the best that you can be..."

End of Flashback:

Jaden turned pink as everyone looked at him like he was insane.

"So, you still wanna quit?" Atilea asked. "Grandma?"

Kaede stood up, "Not a chance!"

**A: 5900**

**K: 0900**

"I'm gonna attack your Swordsman with my Elf!" Kaede cried.

**A: 5700**

**K: 0900**

"Then, I'll switch my own Swordsman into defense mode!" ended Kaede.

"My go! And this will be the final move!" Kaede nodded slightly. "DMG! Attack her Gemini Elf!" ordered Atilea. "And Kaede?"

"Yeah?" Kaede asked before the final move was made.

"Thanks. For dueling your best." Atilea winked before DMG struck the Elf and the match ended.

**A: 5900**

**K: 0000**

"The winner is, Atilea Devlin! She and Kari Maruzakashi will proceed to the first match! The next match is scheduled tommorrow at noon!" Crowler shouted.

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A/N: Wow, double duel chappie. Took me forever! Please point out any mistakes in your review! Stay tuned! Hehe... I sound like a comic book narrarator... Please R&R! No Flamez!

Anime Goddess and Protector


	7. Chapter 7: The Phoenix Returns

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX or its characters or the Devlin Twins. I also do not own anything Final Fantasy related. I only own Takari Maruzakashi and this idea. This is my 2nd fanfic! No Flamez please! Please R&R! Thx for reviewing the last chappie and I know I have the time messed up, but this is my fanfic. Okay, now onto the chappie!

Anime Goddess and Protector

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Chapter 7: The Phoenix Returns

"What'd they say?" Rae asked quietly as Kari appeared at the Slifer Dorms. "Kari?"

"My father and I are going to be getting to know each other." Kari replied, her eyes closed. "Next weekend, he's taking all three of his children out for some family time."

"So, you're happy... right?" Rae questioned, Kari nodded slightly. "Good... now, there's something else I wanna talk to you about."

"There is?" Kari jumped in surprise.

Rae grabbed her arm and gently led her out of earshot of the other students. She removed her goggles and put them on top of her head, smiling with her icy green eyes.

"How many people know?" Rae whispered.

Kari blushed, "I dunno what you're talking about, Rae."

"Don't lie. How many know about Cloud's true idenity?" smirked Rae.

"Five." Kari finally sighed.

"Make that six." Rae winked. "I'm not stupid, keep in mind I LIKE figuring out stuff."

Kari quickly grabbed her arm, "Y-You can't tell!"

Rae blinked, "Is it because of what'll happen with his brother... or is it because of something else?"

"Well... uh..." Kari was turning completely red by now. "Rae... It's really hard to explain..."

"Save it, I can tell you like him!" Rae exclaimed, "And besides..."

Rae closed her eyes and smiled brightly, placing a hand on the dark bruenette's shoulder.

"Your secrets are safe with me for life." Rae held her other hand up to her heart as she said those eight words.

"Alison..." Kari whispered. "You're a life savior."

"Not yet... but I will be." Rae muttered as Kari walked away. "You're in more danger than you think... Takari."

She froze when she felt something on her shoulder, she grabbed it and flipped them over it, anger marks on her forehead.

"WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL, YOU CREEP?!"

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Aelita paused when she reached the Ra Yellow gazebo. Curious, she sat down on the white bench and stared at the wind blowing the leaves and listening to them rustle. Her Amy Lee styled hair blew behind her shoulders gently as her soft dark jade green eyes stared at the orange, yellow, and red-brown leaves. In Aelita's arms was her light green Carbuncle.

"So peaceful..." sighed Aelita. "So... calming."

Aelita loved everything about everything at the moment. The warm gentle breeze on her face to the smell of the wild flowers to the warm autumn weather. She enjoyed the quiet peaceful moments she got to herself. Sure, her and Atilea were close, but they argued a lot. No matter how much they looked alike, they were individuals. Few people got this about the Devlin twins. Aelita's dark jade green eyes closed slowly and she pictured the boy that had been her friend for so long... she loved his accent, his smile, the way his eyes sparkled when he was being serious, his laugh, his brains. He was almost perfect... too perfect for a simple girl like Aelita.

"I'm officially insane about him." laughed Aelita, opening her eyes and leaning back, her arms crossed. "Ati was right, I have progressed from normal crushing to insane crushing."

Everything was quiet until Aelita felt something on her shoulder... something warm...

"HIYAH!" Aelita snatched the thing currently touching her shoulder and flipped them over it.

"Oof!" a surprised voice came from the thing that Aelita had just karate flipped. "Ow... not again..."

Aelita blinked in surprise before getting a close look at the boy's face. His eyes were closed and silver locks fell onto his shoulders. Her mouth dropped open at the sight of the Pro Duelist. Very slowly, he opened his icy blue eyes and sat up, rubbing his skull.

"Ouch! What is it with girls flipping me today?!" the one and only Aster Phoenix exclaimed as he felt a bump on his head. "First that psychotic girl that reminds me of Hassleberry, now you!"

"Aster?" Aelita said surprised. "You mean to tell me that Rae Andrews flipped ya?"

Aster nodded, "Where'd you guys learn to flip people like beanbags, anyway?"

"Kari Maruzakashi." Aelita replied, towering over him with her arms crossed. "Maybe if you didn't sneak up on us!"

"Sorry." Aster apoligized. "I really am..."

"I forgive you." Aelita's cold stare softened. "Sorry about flipping you."

"That really hurt y'know!" Aster laughed. "But I forgive you too."

Aelita pulled the silver haired boy to his feet, "So, why're you here at DA?"

"I'll tell you if you tell me." Aster smirked.

Aelita rolled her eyes, "Well, if you MUST know, Ati and I are competing in the Tag Team Competition for our own Duel Academy back in America."

"Well, that's why I'm here." Aster replied simply. "How is Atilea, anyway?"

"Upset." Aelita admitted. "She's depressed because she knows that she'll never be with Jaden, yet she can't get over him."

Aster got a thinking expression on his face, "Okay. I'll see ya later then, Aelita."

"Hey! Where're ya goin'?!" Aelita called after him.

"No where!" Aster called back. "Hey! And when you see Bastion, tell him I said hi!"

"How'd he know I was planning on going to see Bastion next?" Aelita whispered, her cheeks turning red at the sound of her crush's name.

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Aster walked down the windy path, his hands in his pockets. He tried hard not to think of Atilea, but he couldn't help it. She was so... full of life. It hurt him to know she was upset and in pain. Maybe he could help her somehow... maybe he could...

"Ouch!" Aster stopped staring at his feet long enough to look into a pair of light golden brown eyes. "You!"

Alexis Rhodes glared at Aster darkly, "Great, more memories coming to haunt me."

"Have you seen Atilea?" Aster demanded.

Alexis shook her head, "Why?"

"No reason." said Aster hastily. "Hey, by the way, you should talk to Jaden."

Aster started whistling to himself before he put his arms behind his head, walking away. Alexis stared after the icy blue eyed boy and tilted her head with confusion written on her face.

"That's strange... I was considering talking to Jay... but how could he possibly know?"

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Aster finally stopped once he reached the Slifer dorms. A girl had just came out of a dorm.

_That's odd... there aren't suppossed to be girls in Slifer or Ra... _Aster couldn't help but think. _Wait... that hairstyle... I think it's Ati!_

Her sandy brown pleated hair fell around her shoulders and her bangs fell into her closed eyes. Her red bandana was tied around her head like Tyranno's and she was wearing an intresting uniform. In her arms was a Moogle plushie. She sighed deeply as she leaned against the wall.

"What I wouldn't give to find someone to talk to." the American accented girl sighed.

Aster smirked, "You can talk to me."

Atilea jumped and let out a scream of surprise before she looked down at the Pro Duelist with a hard stare. The same stare her twin sister had given to Aster only a short while ago.

"Aster?!" Atilea did a double take before nearly fainting. "Why is this happening to me?!"

The silver haired boy laughed before he leaned on the stair railway. Atilea leaned over the landing with an evil glare.

"Long time no see." Aster smirked.

Atilea's eyes softened at once, she had always found enjoyment in Aster's company. They had met last summer during a competition. Atilea had lost, but she lost with a newfound pride.

"Nice to see you too, I guess." Atilea replied, crossing her arms. "How many girls have you stalked today?"

"Oh... I dunno... twenty... maybe thirty." kidded Aster.

Atilea giggled, "Always the magic man I can see."

"Wanna go somewhere comfortable to talk?" Aster asked. "My arms are starting to fall asleep."

"Kay." Atilea agreed, she walked down the metal stairs and met him at the bottom. She was only half an inch shorter than him. "Let's sit at the edge of the cliffs."

The two duelists made their way to their designation before sitting down on the grass, their legs hanging over the side of the cliffs. Atilea rested her Moogle in her lap. Aster only shook his head.

"And I thought I had seen everything." he grumbled.

"What?" demanded the sandy brown haired DMG Look-a-Like. "You have a problem with Moogles?"

"No!" Aster said quickly. "So, whatcha wanna talk about?"

Atilea smiled, "Nothing..."

"Nothing?" repeated Aster.

"I don't need to." Atilea said gently. "You're here... you've always been able to see right through me."

Aster actually blushed, "Er... well..."

"I know... that everythings going to be alright." Atilea continued. "I don't know how. I don't know why. I just know that it is. And I have you to thank for that."

"Hey! Atilea! Get your butt up here so I can beat you at Final Fantasy!" Aelita's voice shouted. "I'm almost at Mt. Gagazet in FFX! Hurry!"

"I gotta go." sighed Atilea. "I'll see ya around, Aster."

"See ya." Aster said sadly. She was halfway up the stairs when he turned around and called after her, "Hey!"

"Yeah?" Atilea replied.

"You wanna go to the TTC dance with me?" Aster blurted out, not knowing what had come over him.

Atilea blinked her dark jade green eyes in shock before she nodded slowly, her mouth not working. She waved somewhat before rushing into her dorm. Aelita was in the middle of battling with Tidus, Lulu, and Rikku when her older twin sister rushed inside, and flung herself onto her bed, squealing into her pillow.

"Geez. Did you manage to kiss Jaden or something?" Aelita teased.

Atilea looked up from her pillow, her cheeks red, and she was beaming.

"Even better! I'm going to the TTC dance with none other than Aster Phoenix!"

Aelita's mouth dropped open before she hopped up and the two twins hugged, squealing at the top of their lungs. An annoying pounding reached the door and they stopped, opening the door.

"What on earth is-?" Jaden began.

_**KONK!!**_

Jaden was out cold on the floor once more before Aelita and Atilea began squealing again.

Aelita the remembered something, "Dang it! I forgot! I gotta get over to the Ra dorms!"

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Rae walked down the windy path, her hands behind her head. She was humming one of the songs she thought reflected her. She had just walked near a group of Obelisks, who scowled in annoyance.

"Oh look, it's the Ra Rodent." snickered a boy. "Why don't you just stop trying to be one of us and go live in the Ra dorms, Andrews?!"

Rae grimaced, clenching her fists. Don't Let Me Get Me by Pink running through her mind as she restrained herself from tackling him. His friends began to join in.

"She doesn't even have a fashion sense." giggled a preppy looking girl. "I mean, look at what she's wearing!"

Rae blushed as she put her goggles back on top of her head. She was trying really hard not to go over to the prep and give her a swolen lip. The next thing said would definately cross the line...

"She's nothing but a Military Brat. Just because her daddy was a Major with Hassleberry's dad, she thinks she can walk all over us." snorted the boy again.

Rae lost it, she lunged at the boy, tackling him. He screamed and Rae began to punch him repeatedly. Lucky for her, Tyranno was just passing by, when he heard the Obelisk's pleading. His dark forest green-brown eyes widened in horror before he quickly pulled Rae off of the boy.

"LEMME GO, HASSLEBERRY! JUST ONE MORE PUNCH!" Rae roared, kicking and giving Tyranno a hard time trying to keep her back. He wrapped his arms around the ebony haired girl and started dragging her back into the forest. She finally stopped struggling and stared at her boots.

"You alright, Rae?" Tyranno asked gently, his sweet southern accent rolling perfectly with his words. "C'mon, chin-up." He tilted her chin. "Rae."

Rae looked up, tears brimming her icy green eyes, as she examined her bruised knuckles. Tyranno jumped when Rae, the one girl who forced herself not to cry, started sobbing hard. Tears rolled down her face and onto the ground. Tyranno quickly hugged his friend, coaxing her. Rae began to cry hard into his chest.

"It's okay now." whispered Tyranno. "I gotcha, Alison... it's okay now."

"I-I know." sniffled Rae. "Somehow... I know."

She looked up and into Tyranno's eyes, tearstreaks on her face. She smiled softly before she pulled out of the embrace. Wiping her eyes with her hand.

"Thank you." Rae whispered. "For stopping me."

"I got your back." Tyranno replied. "I always will."

"We still on for the dance?" Rae then asked, laughing. "Dino Nut?"

Tyranno nodded before he playfully picked Rae up and twirled her. Rae looked down at Tyranno's face, her bruised knuckles brushing against his cheeks as her icy green eyes widened. Very slowly, Rae leaned down and kissed Tyranno gently on the lips for a second or two. Tyranno blushed a deep scarlet before Rae pulled out of the quick kiss, smiling sweetly.

"Uh..." Tyranno was completely and utterly speechless. "Um..."

Rae smirked, "What's wrong? Dragon got your tongue?"

The dino teen looked at the Dragon Guardian's face, still holding her gently up. He could feel her icy green eyes searching his own dark forest green-brown ones. Tyranno suddenly felt his eyes dropping closed as he kissed Rae gently and longer than before. Rae's ebony black shoulder length bangs brushed against his face and began to tickle it. Rae had fallen straight into the kiss, surprise and happiness filling her heart the moment Tyranno had kissed her.

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Syrus put his head in his hands, the irritating song going through his mind. Syrus had been trying to get it out of his head for three hours straight. He had heard an Obelisk girl listening to it and he happened to know it, because of Kari. It was Girl You Shine by Aaron Carter. Lame! Well, to Syrus... but everytime he thought of it... he thought of Alexa. Did he know why? NOPE!

"Man! I can't stop thinking about her!" Syrus moaned, before he began to sing it softly.

_I see you every day  
And I can't seem to think  
Of anything to say  
Do you baby?  
How can that be?  
That it breaks my heart   
When you're smilin' at me  
The moment that I laid my eyes on you  
I knew you'd be the one to make my dreams come true_

Girl you shine like reflections on the water  
Girl you shine like the sun in the sky  
Girl you shine like the moon does in the night-time  
Girl you shine like the stars in the sky

In you I see something I won't find ever again  
Baby, you're always on my mind  
If I could find a way to open up my heart  
We'd be together, we'd not be apart  
The moment that I laid my eyes on you  
I knew you'd be the one to make my dreams come true

Girl you shine like reflections on the water  
Girl you shine like the sun in the sky  
Girl you shine like the moon does in the night-time  
Girl you shine like the stars in the sky

Girl I can't imagine being without you  
And I know you're gonna make my dream come true  
You know I never would leave you  
I'll never deceive you  
I'll give you every piece of my heart

Girl you shine  
Shine  
Shine on me  
Girl you shine  
Shine  
Shine on me  
Girl You shine  
Shine  
Shine on me  
Girl you shine  
Shine  
Shine on me

Girl you shine like reflections on the water  
Girl you shine like the sun in the sky  
Girl you shine like the moon does in the night-time  
Girl you shine like the stars in the sky

You're all I need to survive  
and girl you keep me alive  
and girl you shine like the sun in the sky...

Syrus jumped when he heard female laughter from behind him. Whirling around, he was surprised to see Kari rolling on the ground laughing. Tears were streaming from her eyes. The shorter older Ra felt his cheeks turn deep red from embarrassment.

"OMG! You totally are in love with Alexa!" Kari shouted, still cracking up. "I can't believe you remembered that song! It's been, like, three years or something!"

"Takari! Will you shut up?!" hastily cried Syrus, covering her mouth with his hands. "Are you trying to have me tell Mokuba you like him!?"

Kari stopped laughing immediately. Her silver eyes narrowing at her mother's sister's son. Syrus finally removed his hands.

"I want you to keep quiet about this." Syrus growled. "Otherwise..."

Kari quickly stood up and nodded, "I understand. I'm sorry that things aren't working out between you two."

"Heh?" Syrus had never seen his cousin being so... nice. "Kari?"

The dark bruenette smiled, ruffled Syrus' hair, then walked away, smirking.

"Hey!" Syrus called after Kari.

"Yeah?" She replied.

"No tellin' Alexa! Got it! Or I'll sick Rae on ya!" threatened Syrus.

Kari laughed, giving him a thumbs up.

"Scouts honor, Cuz!"

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**M: 0000**

**J: 2300**

"Geez, Jay! Easy on the triple threat!" winced Mokuba, as he collapsed to one knee. "Uh... that really hurt!"

Mokuba and Jaden had been dueling for practice. Of course, Makouba was still weak compared to Jaden. The dark brown haired Slifer pulled his friend to his feet, smiling apologetically.

"So, have any luck on the TTC Dance yet?" Jaden asked curiously.

"No..." cried Mokuba. "And I _really_ can't just go up to her and say it! It's hard!"

"It is?" Jaden repeated in surprise.

"Yeah, it really is." Mokuba sighed. "I just don't want to screw up, nor do I want to be heart-broken like Syrus."

Jaden nodded slightly, jolts going up and down his spine when he heard a familiar voice.

"Jaden!" Alexis cried from up above.

Mokuba elbowed Jaden, "Hehe. Looks like I'm not the only one. Now's your chance, Jay."

The raven haired boy chuckled, before he went up the cliffs and into the dorms, peeking out the window. Alexis walked down to Jaden looking somewhat... nervous. Jaden tried to look calm, but it only made him look completely freaked.

What was he to do?

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A/N: I am so sorry I haven't update in FOR-EVER!! I had no-inspiration syndrome aka WRITERSBLOCKAGE!! But, now I THINK I can attempt to finish this story. (After kidnapping Syrus Fanatic 4-Ever and Eidiolon Twilight Princess, formaly known as Atilea, and forcing them to help me!!) Yay! AlexisxJaden Fluff coming up!! Onto more insanity!!

Anime Goddess and Protector


	8. Chapter 8: Here Comes the Rain Again

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX or its characters or the Devlin Twins. I also do not own anything Final Fantasy related. I only own Takari Maruzakashi and this idea. This is my 2nd fanfic! No Flamez please! Please R&R! Thx for reviewing the last chappie and I know I have the time messed up, but this is my fanfic. Okay, now onto the chappie!

Anime Goddess and Protector

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Chapter 8: Here Comes the Rain Again

"Hi... Jaden..." Alexis muttered softly.

Jaden looked even more freaked, "H-Hi Lex..."

"So... um... how've you been?" she replied.

"Good." Jaden said.

Awkward Pause...

"Lex... I-I have to ask you something." Jaden said, finally unleashing his courage.

Alexis jumped, blushing slightly.

"Has anyone asked you to go with you to the TTC Dance yet?"

"Chazz did. I turned him down." Alexis smirked.

"Why?" asked Jaden in complete surprise.

Alexis avoided his eyes, "Because... I want to go with you..."

Jaden's face descended to the color of his blazer, "Um... wow... okay..." Alexis looked over at him as Jaden knelt down on one knee, taking a hand in hers, "Alexis Rhodes. Will you join me at the Tag Team Competition Dance?"

"I'm flattered," Alexis allowed her blush to take over, "Of course I will, Sir Jaden." she giggled, "This is weird."

"Well, I am a weird kinda dude." laughed Jaden.

"Okay, now we have one more thing to take care of." Alexis replied, beaming.

Jaden nodded, "Yep. Getting Alexandra Maaka and Syrus Truesdale together."

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Alexa sighed sadly. She couldn't take it anymore. Her heart was aching because of what she had done to Syrus. She knew she should've waited for him! But her fears had taken over. Alexa had never been lucky in love. She was the shy bookworm that happened to be a Pro Duelist from the American Duel Academy. Big deal. Now, the one person Alexa actually might have fallen in love with... she had hurt in one of the worst ways possible.

"I need to talk to Aelita." Alexa declared, "She is my closest friend."

Aelita had been one of Alexa's best friends ever since the Devlin Twins had been made her apprentices. Atilea was Rae's best friend, because they had more in common. Both twins were wonderful girls... but so different.

"Syrus..." Alexa whispered again. She then had an idea, "That's it!!"

She jumped up from her bed and rushed towards her closet. She finally found the outfit she was looking for.

"I'm sorry, Syrus." Alexa looked at the slowly darkening sky, "I love you."

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"Looks like it's gonna rain." Bastion commented.

Aelita nodded. She had quickly rushed into the Ra Dorms for shelter and ran into Bastion. They were sitting in the window seat together, watching the sky darkening and the wind blowing gently. Aelita thought it was rather romantic, even tho' she wouldn't admit it to Bastion.

"Isn't that Alexa?!" Bastion exclaimed a second later.

Alexa had just rushed into the safety of the gazebo. She was wearing a pair of grey-black jeans, a sleeveless turtle neck black top, attachable baggy black sleeves, like Yuna's from Final Fantasy X, that were tied just above her elbows, and black Chuck Taylors. On her head was a black berret. Alexa was holding a microphone in one hand and a CD player in the other. She found the plug and set to work.

A/N: I THINK that's how it's spelled. It's those weird french artist hats.

"I'm getting Syrus." Bastion declared, grabbing Aelita's hand, "C'mon!"

Aelita surprisingly didn't blush as they quickly ran down the corridors and to Syrus' dorm. He had just left it, looking depressed, when Bastion and Aelita tackled him. (Puts up shield to protect myself against Syrus Fangirls) Carrying him by his arms and towards the entrance.

"Hey! Lemme go!" cried Syrus, dizzy and confused.

Alexa's silver-blue eyes widened at the sight of Syrus. She took a deep breath before starting the CD player. The volume at max. Aelita and Bastion both hid from view as Syrus stared at Alexa with wide eyes. Alexa began to sing just as a light sprinkle unleashed on the island.

A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own Here Comes the Rain Again by the Eurythmics! NO SUEING, YOU DANG LAWYERS!!

_Here comes the rain again_

_Fallin' on my head like a memory_

_Fallin' on my head like a new emotion_

_I want to walk in the open wind_

_I want to talk like lovers do_

_Want to dive in your ocean_

_Is it raining with you?_

_So, baby, talk to me_

_Like lovers do_

_Walk with me_

_Like lovers do_

_Talk to me_

_Like lovers do_

_Here comes the rain again_

_Raining in my head like a tragedy_

_Tearin' me apart like a new emotion_

_I want to breathe in the open wind_

_I want to kiss like lovers do_

_Want to dive in your ocean_

_Is it raining with you?_

_So, baby, talk to me_

_Like lovers do_

_Walk with me_

_Like lovers do_

_Talk to me_

_Like lovers do_

_So, baby, talk to me_

_Like lovers do_

_Here it comes again_

_Here comes the rain again_

_Fallin' on my head like a memory_

_Fallin' on my head like a new emotion_

_Here it comes again_

_Here it comes again_

_I want to walk in the open wind_

_I want to talk like lovers do_

_Want to dive in your ocean_

_Is it raining with you?_

_Here it comes again_

_Here comes the rain again_

_Fallin' on my head like a memory_

_Fallin' on my head like a new emotion_

_Here it comes again_

_Here it comes again_

_I want to walk in the open wind_

_I want to talk like lovers do_

_Want to dive in your ocean_

_Is it raining with you?_

_Here comes the rain again_

_Fallin' on my head like a memory_

_Fallin' on my head like a new emotion..._

Thunder rumbled across the sky, lightning flashing. Syrus stepped into the rain before breaking into a run. He threw his arms around Alexa and hugged her tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Syrus!!" Alexa sobbed, "I never wanted to hurt you!! I love you!!"

Syrus blinked his tearfilled silver eyes in shock to hear these words. Bastion and Aelita both grinned and highfived from their hiding place. Alexa pulled away, staring at him with her wide eyes.

"I love you, Syrus." whispered Alexa. "I don't know how you feel about me, but I want you to know."

Syrus jumped when Alexa pulled him into an intense kiss. His eyes slowly dropping closed as he felt himself kissing Alexa back. Aelita and Bastion both anime collapsed in shock, anime confusion swirls in their eyes. After what seemed like forever, Alexa pulled out of the kiss.

"A-Alexa?" Syrus choked out.

Alexa weakly smiled. She had never kissed anyone before. Syrus was her first kiss...

"I told Blaze I'm not going to the dance with him." Alexa said quietly, "Because I want to go with you."

Syrus hugged Alexa again, "I love you, too!! Of course we can go to the dance together!!"

"Really!? Oh, Syrus!! I'm so happy!!" Alexa cried in excitement, kissing him on the cheek.

They looked at one another, suddenly blushing.

"Um... that was really unexpected." began Syrus awkwardly.

"Spurr of the moment?" Alexa said, sheepishly grinning.

Syrus looked towards the dorms, "I wonder what happened to Aelita and Bastion?"

"Heh? What do they have to do with anything?" Alexa replied confused.

"They kidnapped me." grimaced Syrus.

Alexa giggled, "Hey, let's get out of this rain."

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_Mokuba... _Kari thought. _How come you feel so lonely, when you're not alone? Why can't I just tell you how I'm feeling...? _She sat up slowly and looked at the sleeping raven haired boy.

"Mokuba?" Kari whispered, hopping down from the bunk. She knelt down next to him and gently touched his arm, "Are you okay?"

Mokuba began to thrash in his sleep, muttering under his breath. He seemed to be having a nightmare of some sort. Kari dodged out of the way before she was punched in the face.

"Mokuba?! Wake up?!" Kari exclaimed, shaking his arm. "Moku-?!"

A cloth was suddenly put of her mouth and nose. A few seconds later, Kari was out cold. Her limp body was picked up by a tall brunette with cold lifeless sapphire blue eyes. He then stared down at the sleeping Mokuba and smirked evilly. Tossing a note on the floor next to him, the one and only Seto Kaiba left, taking Kari with him. He walked in the rain and headed for the docks before boarding a boat.

Mokuba jerked suddenly awake, "Takari!?" His dark eyes gazed around the room. They landed on the open door and the note. With trembling hands, Mokuba read it outloud, "'If you ever want to see the girl you love ever again... return to KaibaCorp immediately.'" Tears filled Mokuba's eyes, "Kari..."

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A/N: Hehe. I'm so evil. Sorry about the cliffhanger. I can't get the song 'Self Deception' by Lacuna Coil outta my head. (groans) I hate it whenever songs get stuck in my head. Okay, onto the next chapter! More duels and tons more action! (not to mention FLUFF!! WOOT!!) Please Read and Review!!

Anime Goddess and Protector


	9. Chapter 9: Choice of the Heart

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX or its characters or the Devlin Twins. I also do not own anything Final Fantasy related. I only own Takari Maruzakashi and this idea. This is my 2nd fanfic! No Flamez please! Please R&R! Thx for reviewing the last chappie and I know I have the time messed up, but this is my fanfic. Okay, now onto the chappie!

Anime Goddess and Protector

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Chapter 9: Choice of the Heart

"Mokuba?! Are you insane?!" Jaden shouted, "You can't possibly go out in that storm!!"

"Seto's got Kari!! I'm not going to let her be harmed because of what I've done, Jaden!!" Mokuba shouted back, "It's my fault Kari's been kidnapped and I can't just sit here and do nothing!!"

Jaden grabbed his arm, "I know you care about her, but getting yourself killed isn't gonna help Kari either!!"

Aster cleared his throat, "Look, we can go to KaibaCorp after the storm clears."

Mokuba whirled around, "WE?"

Everyone had already been informed about everything after Kari had been kidnapped. Syrus was almost as stressed as Mokuba about it. Kari WAS his cousin. Alexa held his hand in comfort. They all exchanged a look.

"Yes, we." Aster replied, "Takari is our friend and also the girl you've had to teach yourself through feelings for."

Mokuba collapsed to his knees, "Why did I let this happen? Why?"

Atilea and Aelita both went to his side and hugged him, "It's not your fault. You didn't know this was gonna happen."

"YES!" Rae exclaimed suddenly, "I got reception! Now to call Joey and the rest of them."

Tyranno smiled, "Aw, yes, my raven has finally lost it."

"I HAVE NOT!" Rae growled menacingly.

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Meanwhile... at KaibaCorp.

"You're awake." said a serious voice.

Kari's silver eyes flickered open to see herself in an almost empty room. Leaning against one of the walls was the one and only Seto Kaiba.

"Kaiba!" Kari exclaimed, wincing.

Seto quickly rushed to her side, gently touching her shoulder, "They hurt you!"

"Get away from me!" Kari exclaimed louder, pulling out of his grip. "I hate you! What have you done to Mokuba!?"

His sapphire gaze stared down at her, "I haven't done anything... Mokuba... he doesn't know the truth..." Her eyes snapped back onto his face, "The person who attempted to hurt him... the one that kidnapped you...it's an impostor. I would never do those things."

For some strange reason, Kari believed him. Seto sat down next to her, gently taking her hands in his.

"My brother... he's in love... has been since the very beginning..." Seto continued. "Despite the fact you're Wheeler's half-sister, I can tell you care about my brother."

"S-Seto..." Kari's voice came out choked, "W-Why do you care so much?"

His eyes closed, "Because you're the one my brother fell in love with."

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"You guys okay?" Aster asked Joey, Serenity, and Duke.

Joey was twitching servely, one of his eyes had been blackened. Serenity had a firm grip on his arm.

"I want my sister back." Joey growled in reply.

"He's... not very happy..." laughed Serenity, sweatdropping.

"Duke had to black my eye." grumbled the dark blond.

Jaden, Syrus, and Tyranno were all trying not to faint at the sight of the pro duelist and the creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters. Duke was tackled in a double deathgrip by his twin sisters the moment they saw him. The rain had finally stopped, but dark grey clouds loomed overhead. A group shiver occured as a chilled breeze went through the air.

"Mokuba?" Serenity's gaze landed on him. He was sniffling. Tears brimming his dark eyes. Jumping, Mokuba was suddenly enveloped in a hug. "We're getting her back. Your brother is not responsible."

"Serenity?!" everyone else cried in shock.

She looked him in the eye, "He's in as much trouble as Kari is."

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"Mokuba should be here soon." smirked Dark-Seto.

A/N: Let's name the creepy one!

A man with clean cut auburn hair and creepy gold eyes wearing a suit replied, "Then KaibaCorp will be ours and we can bring Yugi Moto down as well! Soon, we will control everything the two greatest duelists own!"

Another, with spiked ice green hair and dull black eyes, scoffed, "Yeah right. Just watch. Someone will end up stoppin' you two lunatics."

"Be quiet, Zealyn!" snapped the auburn haired one.

Zealyn cringed at his older brothers words, "Don't tell me to be quiet, Parkinson!"

Dark-Seto shook his head, "Now, now. No need to fight." A creepy grin formed across his face, "Zealyn, go to the girl, and... you know the rest..."

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As soon as the door opened, Seto immediately shielded Kari with his body. He relaxed slightly when he saw it was Zealyn Parkinson, one of Mokuba's school mates. His dull black eyes landed on Kari, before he shut the door.

"Is she okay? That lunatic didn't touch her, did he?" Zealyn asked, kneeling next to them. He looked at Kari's frightened face, "No need to worry, Takari. Your friends will come for you and Mr. Kaiba."

"W-Who are you?" Kari asked, trembling visibly.

"Zealyn. One of Mokuba's friends. My psycho brother and some freak's behind this whole thing. I would've gone to the police, but who knows what they'd do to me." His eyes were surprisingly warm, "I'm going to give you the access code to get out of the back entrance."

Seto smirked, "No need. I know it."

Zealyn turned to him, "Hate to burst your bubble, but they changed all the codes." He then found a marker in one of his pockets, turning to Kari, he said, "Lift your shirt."

_**SLAP!!**_

"I didn't mean like that!" Zealyn hissed, waterfalls pouring down his face, and a large handprint on his right cheek. "I'm going to write the code somewhere where no one else can see it!"

Kari was twitching like a mad woman, anger marks forming, before she raised the hem of of her shorts. Zealyn wrote the code and scrambled away from her, fear of being slapped again, or worse, punched in the face. She then covered it up.

"Nice try, Zealyn!" cackled a voice from over the PA. They all growled as the locks clicked on the doors. "I knew you'd end up betraying me eventually! Have fun being imprisioned with those morons!"

"Damn!" Zealyn hissed in annoyance. "Shoulda known he'd pull that!" He kicked the wall before huffily sitting cross-legged on the floor. "I'm so telling mom!"

Seto sweatdropped, "Yep. He is definitely friends with Mokuba." He then turned to Kari, "Speaking of which, how's he doing at Duel Academy?"

"Great. We came up with a new idenity for him and everything. He really does enjoy being there with us." Kari sighed, "Him and Syrus are really close. Same with Jaden. He's one of the only people Sarge doesn't try to squish." she laughed, "And the first boy I've ever had feelings for."

She couldn't believe she had just confessed this to Mokuba's brother. Kari hugged her knees, feeling sadness filling her heart. If they didn't ever get out of there, and stop Mokuba, she might never be able to tell him her feelings. Sure, it was unethical for Joey Wheeler's half-sister to fall for Seto Kaiba's brother, imagine the family reunions! But Mokuba's dark gaze captivated her. His eyes were warm and caring and haunted her dreams. No one had ever made her feel that way before. If Kari had been a bookworm like Alexa, she'd blame it on horomones, but it wasn't that. The feelings burning in her heart and mind was love.

"Takari...?" Zealyn whispered in surprise.

"I have one thing to say to both of you," Kari hissed, her silver eyes filled with determination, "There's only three things I duel for! My family, myself, and Mokuba!"

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"Typical. They send out the goon squad." Joey muttered, before he activated his duel disk. "Well, bring it on, Ugly!"

Tyranno had done the same thing, "Lt. Joey and I'll handle these goons! You guys go on ahead and try to find Takari!"

"No!" Rae hugged him tightly, "I'm not leaving you, Ty!"

Tyranno gently pushed her away, "I need you to go with Mokuba."

Rae nodded fiercely, before grabbing the raven haired boy's sleeve.

"You guys go on!" Joey shouted to the rest. "Go!"

Once inside, they found themselves in a maze of corridors and rooms. Deciding to split up, they split into groups of two. Alexis and Jaden, Aelita and Bastion, Atilea and Aster, Alexa and Syrus, Serenity and Duke, and Mokuba and Rae.

_Please don't let us be too late... _Mokuba thought, as Rae and him dodged down hallways, searching desperately for the dark brunette in the hellish corridors. Rain unleashed itself, lightning flashing, thunder rumbling. Goosebumps covered their arms as the power was knocked out.

"Can you see anything, Rae?" he dared to ask.

"Mm-hmm." Rae said from his right, "Gimme your hand. I'm used to night vision. Keep in mind my dad was in the military with Tyranno's dad and they had to do this kinda stuff." Mokuba took her hand, Rae squeezing it in comfort, "Don't worry... I promised Takari I'd protect you and her."

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"Aster... I'm scared..." Atilea whispered, holding the arm of her Moogle tighter.

Aster took her free hand in his, lacing his fingers through hers, "It'll be alright, Ati." They stopped in the middle of the silent hallway, staring at each other. "Where's the tough girl I've gotten to know?"

She closed her eyes, gathering herself, before she opened them. Courage reflected in her eyes.

"Let's go find our friend!" Atilea exclaimed.

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Zealyn suddenly leapt to his feet, as if to protect Seto and Kari, as the door opened. A huge guy who had a look on his face that said, "Piss Me Off and It'll Be the Last Thing You Ever Do." smirked as Zealyn gritted his teeth. There was no way he was going to let him hurt Kari or Seto. He owed it to Mokuba.

"Move over, shrimp." he ordered in a gruff voice.

"No way, Giganto!" Zealyn exclaimed, Seto was shielding Kari protectively in his arms. "You ain't gonna hurt one hair on her head!"

He grimaced, "If I didn't have orders, from Mr. Parkinson not to hurt you, I'd kick your ass." He knocked Zealyn into the wall, as gently as he could, before approaching Seto and Kari. "Hand over the girl."

"Like hell!" Seto growled, losing his temper.

He received a sharp blow to the head. Seto groaned in pain as he began to slip into unconsciousness. The last thing he heard, and remained echoing within his mind, was Kari's screams.

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"KARI!! SETO!!" Mokuba cried, just as all the corridors ended into a large room.

Everyone else had appeared from different entrances, bewildered. It really had been a maze. Chained to the far wall, where no entrance stood, was Kari and Seto. A man who looked like Kaiba, except scarier and psychotic to some degree, stood in front of them, his duel disk activated. Large cages suddenly fell in the hallways, locking the others inside them. Rae, being the smart one, had pushed Mokuba into the room just as she was trapped.

"You want them back? Duel me." Dark-Seto laughed. "But you may only chose one if you reign victorious. If you lose, then you will be imprisoned here with them forever."

_But I'm not a strong duelist... _Mokuba thought, gripping his locket. _Big Brother... Takari... give me strength..._

"On one condition!" Mokuba growled, "You let me duel with Kari's deck!"

"Very well. But I must use the deck of one of your friends." Dark-Seto's eyes scanned the duelists. "Hers! The cute girl holding the weird creature!" He indicated to Atilea, who squeaked. One of the goons guarding Seto and Kari walked forward and held out his hand for the deck. Atilea, reluctantly, handed it over. "Now, let us duel!"

Another goon had taken Kari's deck from her case, and given it to Mokuba, who was putting on a duel disk unlike the ones from DA. They shuffled their decks, and drew their cards.

"DUEL!!"

**M: 4000**

**DS: 4000**

"I'll begin!" Mokuba drew, looking at the cards, and reading their effects one-by-one. He wasn't going to take any chances, "I'll start by summoning Quezacotl!" A large thunder bird appeared, with it thunder crashed above the building. "In defense mode."

Quezacotl: Atk/1200 Def/1500

Dark-Seto drew, "I'm going to place this card facedown on the field, and then I shall summon Witch of the Black Forest in defense mode!"

Witch of the Black Forest: Atk/1100 Def/1200

_What the heck...? Why didn't he summon a monster that could destroy my defense...? Unless he's planning to sacrifice and use her special ability!_

"Let's see here..." Mokuba's eyes landed on the card he wanted, "Hehe. I'm gonna play Carbuncle in defense mode! And with his special ability, I get 500 lifepoints for every other monster on the field!" Carbuncle flipped out of a hole in the ground, the ruby encrusted in his skull glowing, as he flipped into defense mode. "And that ends my turn!"

**M: 5000**

**DS: 4000**

"I'm going to sacrifice my Witch in order to summon this beauty! Dark Magician Girl!" Dark-Seto pulled out Gemini Elf from his deck, "And due to my Witch's special ability, I get to add this to my hand!"

Dark Magician Girl: Atk/2000 Def/1700

"Now, my magician, destroy that rabbit!"

Mokuba hastily activated his facedown, "Not so fast, Fat Head! I activate Ruby Glare!" Dark-Seto scowled as the attack was negated, "Any attacks, as long as this magic card is equipped, on Carbuncle are negated!"

"I end my turn!"

Mokuba looked over at Kari, "Please be alright," he drew, "Cool! I'm going to sacrifice both of my monsters in order to summon Alexander!" A monster than looked like a castle with wings appeared on Mokuba's side of the field. "And due to his effect, I get to look at your hand, choose one card, and remove it from play! Now show me your hand!" Dark-Seto obeyed, twitching slightly, "Say buh-bye to Curse of Darkness!"

Alexander: Atk/2800 Def/2600

"Now, attack DMG! Holy Judgement!" Mokuba cried.

**M: 5000**

**DS: 2200**

"I'm not through yet, Evil Dude! I'm gonna activate this magic card! Moogle Revival!"

"What's that do?" He asked.

"By sending this card, Kupo! Moogle Calling!, to the Graveyard, I can bring back one Level 5 or lower Guardian Force to my side of the field! I choose Quezacotl! And looks like today's just not your day, because my battle phase still continues! Thunder Storm!"

Quezacotl: Atk/1200 Def/1500

**M: 5000**

**DS: 1000**

_What's happening...? _Kari opened her eyes to see Mokuba dueling the person who had attacked her. He was using her deck and was winning. _Mokuba?!_

"_Why_ are you dueling me?" Dark-Seto suddenly asked.

Mokuba crossed his arms, "Simple, you moron. I have three reasons. Number one, you pissed me off by kidnapping the girl I would sacrifice myself for. Number two, you've taken over the company my brother worked so hard in building. And Number three, 'cause you're a sick bastard who needs to be taught a lesson!" He growled, rage in his dark eyes.

A/N: Wow. Mokuba... has a really bad temper, doesn't he?

"Mo... ku... ba...?" Kari weakly cried out, she had never seen him so angry before.

"Kari!? You're okay?!" He looked so happy to see she was alive.

"Barely! I don't care what he says! When you win, free your brother! Forget about me!" Kari cried, she had heard the terms of their duel while trying to regain consciousness.

Mokuba's eyes darkened, "I can't do that..."

"But you must!"

"Don't tell me what my heart is saying, Kari!" Mokuba growled in a warning tone.

_The choice of my heart... That's what this is... I have to choose... Between my own brother... or the girl I love..._

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A/N: Hehe. Cliffy. Again. Sorry about all the swearing this chapter, but SOMEBODY'S really mad... (cough-Mokuba-cough) Please R&R and I'll try to update ASAP.

Anime Goddess and Protector


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